Kuroko The Shadow Merc and Samus the Bounty Hunter
by ninjahX
Summary: What is a man who lost his friends, family, and his entire village to do? With the shadows by his side, a being housing within his body, and all the time in the world, anything he wants. This is continued from another arc featuring a character of my own creation. Adventure, fantasy, some romance, and other sub genres. Samus X OC Enjoy :)
1. The Final Frontier

A/N: TO ALL WHO READ MY PREVIOUS ARC THANK YOU. IF YOU HAVE NOT I WILL TRY AND FIT IN AS MUCH EXPOSITION AS POSSIBLE, BUT IF YOU WANT TO KNOW EVERYTHING IN DETAIL YOU CAN READ MY PREVIOUS STORY, JUST GO TO FISCTIONPRESS AND SEARCH "THE MISADVENTURES OF KUROKO" OTHER THAN THAT THANK YOU FOR VIEWING AND ENJOY MY STORY INVOLVING MY VERY OWN CHARACTER WHO SHALL CROSS PATHS WITH A CERTAIN BOUNTY HUNTER. TELL ME WHAT YOU GUYS THINK :)

Chapter 1

The Final Frontier

Only a few weeks has passed since Kuroko has returned from Atharia. It was just like any other day for him, calm quite, and BORING! The few people who saw him occasionally barely noticed he was gone and assumed he was on another assignment, which he was technically. The unexpected trip to another world was a good change of pace for him for he rarely has to get serious by releasing the first seal let alone the second. For you see ever since he received his birthright, The Shadow Being within him, his father had put four seals upon him in order to keep his power in check. Normally for any of the successors to the Shadow Being would only have one or two seals, but Kuroko was given four only because he was too young when he received it.

Today was unexciting and rather dull and Kuroko was on his way home to his little apartment from a night at the bar. He was in his casual attire, loose black jeans, a black hoodie, and a black scarf used as a mask to cover his face. There was a bright full moon to illuminate the darkened streets of Tokyo and the air was crisp, cool and refreshing. All was seemed normal as if nothing was amidst, but being over 1000 years old Kuroko is bound to pick up a thing or two. He was being followed.

"*sigh* _These shadow senses really take the surprise out of life._ " Kuroko said to himself

Yup Kuroko's shadow senses allow him to perceive whatever it is that he cannot normal do so with his five senses. Though usually they let him sense danger, but other subtle things can also be felt including emotions of others.

"You know, if you're gonna tail someone you should make sure they're not aware of you." announced Kuroko calling out his pursuer

He turned around to see a Caucasian male with short brown hair dressed in a formal black suit. He had an ear piece with a wire running down into the neck of his shirt and what really stood out was the gun being pointed at Kuroko.

"Mr. shadow-san I'm afraid you'll need to come with me." said the man in an American accent as he gestured Kuroko to move

Kuroko decided to play along and slowly raised his hands careful to not draw any attention to his feet. However instead of following the man's instructions he stood still. The man became aggravated and began to yell.

"Did you not hear me I said move!" shouted the man

He raised his gun to hit Kuroko upside the head in an attempt to strike fear, but Kuroko saw it coming. The second he raised his gun Kuroko turned and caught the man's wrist with his left hand. Afterwards he gave him a clean right hook and a swift kick to the gut to finish him off.

"Hey what's going on?" asked another man dressed in the same attire

Kuroko saw that he too had his gun drawn and quickly threw his keepsake dagger at the man's gun knocking it out of hand. Instantly Kuroko disappeared then reappeared behind the man to where his dagger was and held it at his throat.

"How did you-"

Before the man could finish his sentence clapping was heard from behind them. An older man dressed in a white suit got out from a limo and appeared in front of them. He had greying hair a neatly shaven beard and had glasses.

" _This must be the leader._ " Kuroko thought to himself

"Very good I would expect nothing less from the infamous Shadow Merc." praised the man "Or should I say Mr. Kage-san?"

"Who are you?" asked Kuroko while still restraining one of his men

"A simple man who is offering you a job, follow me if you wish to learn more." replied the man

Kuroko analyzed the situation. He had one of his men hostage and he approached him unarmed offering him a job. If he had other intentions it would have already shown by now so he agreed and let go of the subordinate.

"Alright fine, you've peaked my interest." Said Kuroko as he kicked the man he was holding away

"But Smith sir how do we know we can trust him?" asked man

"You're not dead are you?" replied Smith

With that said the one subordinate picked up his unconscious friend and got back into the front seat of the limo. Kuroko and Riley got into the back and the limo took off.

"Forgive my men they can be rash sometimes." pleaded Smith "Now then allow me to explain the details of the assignment."

Kuroko held up his hand signaling Smith to stop talking.

"In a moment." said Kuroko "I need a moment of clarity."

He sat down in a cross-legged position and began to meditate. His mind slowly drifted away as if his entire being entered in a state of tranquility.

Inside Kuroko's head

Kuroko was standing in a dark corridor with concrete-like walls on each side. At the end of the corridor was a barred cell with a large talisman on the front that said 'SEAL'. Behind the cell was a shadowy figure simply lounging about.

"So what mess have we gotten ourselves into this time?" asked the shadowy figure

"Too soon to tell Kagemaru, but the man did know my surname so whatever he's got for me must be important." replied Kuroko

"Ya know Kuroko it's been a while since we had a fun wager." said Kagemaru as he stood up

"Ah you're right, sure always fun to keep things interesting. What'd you have in mind?" asked Kuroko who was now intrigued

"Well since you've yet to get the detail on this assignment how about this, while the assignment is still in progress, no demonic overtake and you may only release the first seal for a total of one minute."

"Sounds like fun, what do I get when I win." asked Kuroko with a smug look

"If you win, I suppose there are a few more techniques I could show you." offered Kagemaru

"And if I lose?" asked Kuroko jokingly

"Hmmm then I get your body for one whole day."

Kuroko ponder for a bit then gave a big old grin.

"Okay deal." he said as he reached his hand through the bars and shook hands.

Back outside

Kuroko opened his eyes only to see a large luxurious building in the middle of nowhere. It was at least as tall as the Tokyo tower and had the letters 'FFED' one the front. Behind the building was what looked like a launch site. Smith got out from the limo and directed Kuroko to follow him. hHe walked through the building and down an elevator. Many things were caught his eye. There were many scientists in lab coats; some were rushing back and forth in a hurry to finish their work while others were pacing themselves examining their clipboards. As Kuroko kept going up the tower he saw testing sites, experiments being done, strange weapons, and more. They finally arrived at a large metallic room with a few tables all with interesting looking gadgets on them. Beside one of them was a man tinkering with one of the gadgets. He was at least in his 50's with grey hair, aged features, and the same lab coat.

"Dr. Johnson I've brought the man you requested." announced Smith

"Hm?" the man turned around and became distracted. As he did so his hand slipped and the device he was meddling with exploded in his face.

"*sigh* You really should be more careful." pleaded Smith as he shook his head

"Eh I'll fix it later." Johnson said casually as he tossed his tools aside "Kage-san can I offer you anything to drink?"

"No thanks." replied Kuroko, he examined the man before him "You must be quite resourceful to know my title let alone my name."

"We have our ways." answered Dr. Johnson "That aside based on your cautious approach I assume Mr. Smith didn't fill you in yet."

"No I insisted he wait." relied Kuroko

"Then I'll start with who we are. We are the FFED the Final Frontier Exploration Division." Dr. Johnson explained as he got up and signaled Kuroko to follow "Are you familiar with space at all, Kage-san?"

"Can't say I've been there before." answered Kuroko

As they walked they passed many different researchers working on different projects mainly rockets and other space gizmos.

"Well as you may have heard from the local media we have established contact with other lifeforms from other planets though we've only so far agreed upon issuing a trade agreement between other planets. Unfortunately the world isn't ready for interspecies mingling yet."

"Uh huh, where do I fit in to all this?" asked Kuroko who was increasingly becoming more intrigued

"You may not know it or perhaps you do, but you're quite well known by many higher ups around the world and rumor is you've never failed a job. "

"Heh you are well connected aren't you?" said Kuroko who was mildly impressed

"Now about the assignment." He went over and pressed a button turning on a large computer. On the computer was a layout of a planet and a humanoid figure in an orange power suit with a red helmet and green visors where the eyes should be "We recently sent a small team of hired a bounty hunter to investigate some pirate issues we had with some of our trade routes."

"Go on…"

"It seems we've lost communications with her for a while now and our security forces are spread thin as it is."

"Let me guess you want me to check in make sure everything's okay?" replied Kuroko

"Precisely, do you accept?" asked Dr. Johnson

"Let's talk pay and compensation first." suggested Kuroko

"I am authorized to pay whatever it takes." replied Dr. Johnson

"1,000,000 yen."

For a moment Dr. Johnson paused as if he was pondering on what to do. He then smiled and turned to Kuroko.

"Very well." he said as he pushed another button "You'll be needing this then."

In the middle of the room a cabinet sized panel slowly rose from the ground. On the panel was a high tech looking black suit. It was sleek in design yet loose enough as to not restrict moment and looked quite similar to his normal ninja attire. It even featured a mask to cover the lower half of his face and built in gloves. Kuroko went into another room and emerged dressed in said suit although he still had his scarf on.

"Nice suit." complimented Kuroko "I assume I can keep it when I'm done?"

"Sure think it as bonus." replied Johnson "Let me just show you how it works." He gestured to the wrist which had a mini computer pad built in and many different buttons and features. "This is one of the most important features it materialized a small sleek helmet around your head enabling you to breathe in vacuums. It has an oxygen conversion system so you can breathe as long it can last. Next is your communicator."

Before Dr. Johnson could continue Kuroko gave a look and he could guess what he was thinking.

"Ah right before I go on I should mention that based on our recent scans the enemy base where our team was sent has something we call a 'smart jammer'."

"Which is…?"

"Basically any unregistered communication encryption key immediately tracked, located, and then jammed. However we've designed your communicator to remain undetected only for 2 minutes though. After that you'll have to resume radio silence for at least 30 minutes before you can talk again."

"Hmm I like it." said Kuroko as he performed a few punches and kicks "anything else I should know?"

"Well in case you need them it also features a multipurpose scanner and two terabytes of data storage." he explained "Now then if that's all your ship is ready for departure." He pointed to the spaceship behind the large glass window

"Right… space, how long will it take to get there?" asked Kuroko who seemed annoyed

"Roughly a three days." Dr. Johnson responded

"Three days!?"complained Kuroko "Why so long?"

"We do have a smaller ship that could get you there in a few hours." suggested Dr. Johnson pointing to another space ship beside the other one

"Great."

"That is if you don't mind being a human pancake. That rocket goes too fast for humans so it just used to launch recon satellites into orbit."

"Okay then I have a better idea." replied Kuroko as he went into the room and place his dagger inside the ship "There now set a coarse for their home base."

"What exactly is this supposed to accomplish?" Dr. Johnson questioned

"Hey this is my mission and I'll do it however the hell I want." Kuroko retorted "Now launch the ship to my destination and have it drop my dagger near their base."

"*sigh* As you wish." replied Dr. Johnson

Many works scurried around preparing for the spaceship to take off. After a few minutes the workers settle down and gave to okay.

"Okay recon ship three you're clear for takeoff." announced one of the workers

The room was now empty of employees and the ceiling to the room began to open. Slowly the ship rose into the air and outside the building. The force the ships rockets made caused the room to shake a bit and then in an instant the ship flew off almost too fast for the eye to see.

Kuroko waited patiently and after a few hours one of the scientists confirmed that the package has been successfully dropped onto the designated location.

"Okay now what?" asked Dr. Johnson who was clueless on what was to happen next

"Now when I'm done you send another ship to pick me up."

"What are you-?"

But before he could finish Kuroko vanished in to thin air. Not a trace of him was left as if he was never there to begin with. A few seconds later a message came on the big screen notifying everyone that there was an incoming transmission. The transmission was accepted an on the screen was Kuroko.

"This is Kuroko I've located the enemy base, commencing operation."

A/N: SORRY SAMUS DIDN'T APPEAR IN THIS CHAPTER BUT I PROMISE SHE WILL IN THE NEXT ALSO IF ANYONE DIDN'T FEEL LIKE READING THE PREVIOUS ARC JUST TELL ME WHAT EXPOSITION AND EXPLANATIONS I NEED TO PUT IN AND I WILL TRY AND INCORPORATE IT INTO THE NEXT CHAPTER. THANK YOU


	2. Bounty Hunter Meets Mercenary

**A/N: Thank you all for reading my story I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I tried fitting in as much exposition as I could just let me know if you wanna know anything else. As always leave a review if any questions or comments and happy reading :)**

Chapter 2

Bounty Hunter meets Mercenary

Previously:

Kuroko had just received an interesting job from the FFED, the Final Frontier Exploration Division. In all his years of roaming and wondering the world he'd never gone to space before, but this only peaked his interest even more. Being Kuroko with his playful nature he agreed to a bet made with Kagemaru, the being that dwells within him. After having a piece of his soul bound to the clan heirloom, his dagger, Kuroko received Kagemaru, his birthright. However he was too young so his father placed four seals to suppress his powers. Unfortunately only the caster was able to completely remove the seals, but Kuroko found a way to temporarily release the seals. While all four seals are intact he is no stronger than an ordinary man having only limited access to his ki reserves; able to use only a certain amount of ninja techniques. Now he is on an unfamiliar planet with only one minute of using the first seal, but whatever all the more fun for Kuroko.

Present:

The scenery was quite different from that on earth and the air was not the same. In fact it was completely unbreathable forcing Kuroko to activate his mask. Unlike the blue sky back on earth the sky here was a sickly grayish red color. The vegetation growing was not as plentiful as it was on earth, but enough to support life at least; though where Kuroko had landed the plant life was rather thick forming a jungle like area. In the distance Kuroko spotted what looked like a building probably the enemy base. Kuroko slowly ventured forward cautiously proceeding and taking in his surroundings. As he walked he saw the strange lifeforms that inhabited this planet and the exotic plant life.

All seemed to be quiet and uneventful, but that's when his shadow senses always kicked in. From above him two humanoid creatures that were hanging in the trees jumped down to ambush him. Kuroko was able to back flip out of the way and drew his dagger. The creatures before him were very tall at least eight feet, but were hunched over making them appear shorter. They had bluish scaly skin along with other reptile features and a hideous face with vicious looking jaws. They were equipped with a scythe like blade in one hand and another weapon in the other which Kuroko had no knowledge of.

"Ah you guys must be the welcoming party." mocked Kuroko "You haven't seen Samus around have you?"

The two seemed shocked for a second then yelled at each other in a language Kuroko did not understand then turned to face Kuroko.

"Hold guys I think this thing has a translator." he said has he fiddled with his control pad

The two creatures snarled and raised their wrists and shot a dark blue energy beam. The attack caught Kuroko by surprise since he didn't know what to expect, but only for a split second. He deflected the blasts with his dagger and moment the firing ceased he threw it at one of the creatures. They both aimed their blasters at Kuroko, but he was no longer there. Instead he appeared behind one of the creatures and sliced open its hamstrings, completely crippling it. The other one took notice and attacked with its scythe, but Kuroko blocked it and delivered a swift kick knocking it back. He then instantly stabbed the other one in the head killing it. The creature remaining aimed its blaster at Kuroko, but it was too late; all's it could see was a dagger no more than two inches away from its face. Kuroko appeared in front and impaled his blade deep into the creature's skull. He wiped the green blood from his blade and sheathed it.

"These must be the pirates Johnson was talking about." Kuroko said to himself "Probably means I'm getting closer to finding my target."

He bent down and picked up one of the pirate's weapons and began to fiddle around with it.

"I'm not one for this kind of weaponry, but it might come in handy." he said to himself

Then out of the corner of his eye he spotted someone. He turned his head to see a person covered completely in an orange power suit.

"That's Samus." Kuroko said to himself, he waved to her "Hey-" his eyes widened as he saw a giant ball of plasma energy flying towards him. He quickly dove out of the way; behind him was a giant hole completely melted through the rock.

"Wait a minute I-"

Samus began to fire a series of smaller plasma shots. Kuroko simply let out a big sigh then proceeded to block the shots. Kuroko wasn't able to see it because of her visor, but she seemed somewhat surprised. The flurry of shots stopped; Samus was charging up another shot.

"I guess words won't get through to her." Kuroko said "Let's try force."

As Samus fired the charged shot Kuroko threw his dagger. The second it passed the large ball of plasma Kuroko appeared and charged at Samus full force. This really caught her off guard as she slow to react. As she aimed her plasma cannon he caught it and redirected the shot away.

"Well as long as she's alive." Kuroko thought to himself

He spun his whole body around her and attempted to cripple her legs. *Clink* his dagger bounced off her armor having no effect.

"Well that's not good."

Samus realized she was fine and kicked Kuroko away and began charging another shot. She fired, Kuroko only smiled as he turned his body sideways to avoid the attack.

"Nice shot." taunted Kuroko "Better luck-"

Samus ignored his snide remark and grabbed his with her tether beam. After a mighty swing she threw him in a nearby chasm.

"AAaaaaaaaaaaaaa"

Kuroko was falling and fast. He had to think quickly lest he wanted to be a roadkill. That's when he spotted a small branch. He threw his dagger towards it and teleported to it, grabbing it just in time.

"Whelp better start climbing."

Meanwhile Samus who was being watched was now being confronted by those very people. From the thicket of the jungle large dragon like creature with menacing looking yellow eyes and greyish scaly skin emerged along with three space pirates. Samus only looked over.

"Ridley…"

Ridley only gave a maniacal laugh and ordered the space pirates to attack. Samus kept a clear head and quickly disposed of the three space pirates with a few plasma shots. She then turned her attention to their leader who feigned interest in how quickly she made work of his three subordinates.

"I expected no less from my adversary." said Ridley as he slowly approached her "but it's time to surrender we already have the rest of your team."

"Over my dead body." replied Samus as she pointed her plasma cannon at him

Ridley smiled "It would be my pleasure."

The battle between old rivals had begun. Ridley took flight and started to charge at Samus hoping to take a nice chunk out of her with his claws. Samus was more than prepared and tumbled out of the way and fire off a few counter shots. Unfortunately her standard plasma cannon had little to no effect and only caused Ridley to laugh out of arrogance.

"Is that the best you can offer Samus?" mocked Ridley "What's wrong missing some weapons?"

 _Ridley was right_ Samus thought to herself, thanks to their previous encounter before she ended up losing a decent amount of weaponry and was only left with a few options. She tried launching a few missiles which at the very least seemed to stun Ridley, but with no other weapons there was little that could be done to follow up.

"Bahahahaha, let me show you a real weapon."

Ridley retaliated by firing off a few rounds of large fiery-looking plasma balls. Samus managed to turn into a morphball and roll out of the way, but miscalculated and took a direct hit from one of the plasma balls which knocked her down. _I won't last much longer_ _this rate_ Samus thought to herself _guess I have to use that._ She got up started running while firing the missiles she had left. Explosions covered Ridley's face and he tried to clear his vision. As his vision became clearer he noticed a large amount of energy charging up in Samus's plasma cannon. He smirked and began charging a mass of energy of his own.

"DIE!" they both yelled as they both fired a huge beam of plasma

The beams of plasma collided in a flash of light cool plasma mixed with dark burning red plasma. Both adversaries were struggling to win the power match. However Samus was at a clear disadvantage as her injuries were beginning to catch up with her while Ridley was in tip top condition. Samus managed to hold out until eventually the collision point exploded sending with combatants hurling backwards. Ridley landed in the thicket of trees and Samus collided with a large rock causing it to crack slightly. Ridley recovered shrugging off the explosion like it was nothing; Samus on the other hand struggled to remain conscious, but she couldn't. The force of the explosion was just too great and she had already taken too much damage prior to their fight. Ridley walked up to the defenseless bounty hunter.

"Hahaha it was fun, but now it's over."

He raised his claw in an attempt to finish off the bounty hunter for good, but stopped when he saw a dagger inches away from his eye. In an instant Kuroko appeared and gouged Ridley's left eye out causing him to back up and screech in pain.

"Sorry, but I need her alive." Kuroko said nonchalantly as he gracefully landed

"You, you're not dead?" asked Ridley in an annoyed tone

"It'll take a lot more than that to finish me off." retorted Kuroko

"Gladly."

As soon as Ridley had finished their little chat he began to fire plasma ball after plasma ball at Kuroko hoping burn him to a crisp. Kuroko however was nimble enough to evade each attack which only caused Ridley to become even more frustrated. He looked around then noticed Samus still lying there and smiled. He shot a series of plasma balls at Samus in an attempt to throw Kuroko off balance. He saw what he was doing and threw his dagger over near Samus. Fortunately he was able to teleport to her and throw the dagger in a different direction; teleporting them both away avoiding the attack. _At this rate I'll fail the mission and lose the bet_ Kuroko thought to himself _I guess I have no choice one minute was it?_ He activated a timer on his wrist comp and made a hand signal and focused his ki.

"First Seal, Release!"

The timer started and Kuroko was now surrounded by a feint shadowy aura. The aura was much more visible around his hands and dagger. Ridley ignored this sudden transition and continued to shoot plasma balls at both him and Samus.

"Hmp, Shadow Shaping: Shield."

The shadowy aura surrounding him began to take shape and formed a barrier around him. The balls of plasma collided with the barrier and dispersed completely as if engulfed by the very shadows themselves.

"Is that all?" taunted Kuroko "Honestly I can't believe I have to use this form."

Ridley seemed a bit frightened as only a few were able to casually shrug off his attack so easily. He took flight once more and decided to keep his distance. Once again he launched a barrage of plasma balls, but Kuroko easily dodged them all and disappeared. He was using his trademark shadow-step.

Yes the shadow-step was the head of the clan's trade mark technique. The being that resides within him once ruled over his own personal realm known as the void of shadows before he was banished which is more or less connected to every other world. Shadow-stepping allows the user to enter that world then reenter this world at another location.

Kuroko appeared above Ridley and tore through one of his wings making a devastating wound and crippling his ability to fly. Ridley came crashing down hard on his abdomen. He was slightly disorientated, but once he came to he saw Kuroko appear below him. With a stroke of his blade his slashed at his legs also crippling them. Afterwards he took a mighty leap preforming a debilitating uppercut with his blade then finished his combo with yet another gouge to his other eye. Ridley began shrieking in pain and agony; he stumbled backwards and swung his claws in a blind rage hoping to hit Kuroko. It all went according to plan Ridley was too disoriented and furious to think straight and as he continued his tantrum he did not notice the chasm behind him and fell in. With his wings crippled and his eyes now blind there was little he could do, but plummet to his doom.

"Good riddance." muttered Kuroko

He looked over at the unconscious bounty hunter, but then paused as he heard voices and footsteps coming from the other direction. Kuroko looked back and Samus and decided he had no choice but to carry her. He bent down and attempted to pick her up.

"Rrrrrrraaahhhhhggg! Goddammit she's heavy."

It took him a little while, but he managed to heave her over his shoulder and disappeared into the jungle. He didn't get very far as Samus was weighing him down too much. Luckily he found hill with a small cave carved out in it and stopped to rest there.

"Okay we should be safe here." he said as he let Samus down while breathing heavily "Rise and shine honey.

He began tapping her shoulder trying to wake her up, but failed to do so. He thought for a moment, but couldn't discern weather or not she was seriously injured; the suit made sure of that. Then he remembered a function his suit had. He activated the multipurpose scanner on his wrist comp and pointed it toward Samus. It read _Warning: Emergency dematerialization device malfunctioning must remove manually._ The scanner located two latches on her shoulders that were to be released.

"Okay this should do it." he released the two latches

Steam erupted from the cracks as the power suit came undone; pieces of the suit fell of one by one and disappeared as they did. What was left was a very heart struck Kuroko. A beautiful woman lies before him. She was in skin tight blue suit, had blonde hair, blue eyes, and had the perfect proportions.

"Why hello there sleeping beauty." said the mesmerized mercenary not noticing his scanner going off

He looked at his wrist comp again this time it was flashing red and said _Warning: subject has multiple fractured ribs and massive internal bleeding seek medical attention immediately._

"That's not good." Kuroko said to himself "and with only five seconds left I don't think I can heal her with my own power."

He kept calm and looked around. They seemed to be alone for the most part no space pirates around. Her injuries were too severe for any natural herbs to handle not that he even knew what any of these plants did. It seems his only hope was to visit the pirates' base and find some advanced medical equipment. Thankfully this suit already had a map of the area due to previous Intel. He looked at his wrist comp and pulled up the map. There was a medical lab not too deep in.

"Perfect. Hang tight Samus I'll be back." he said after he set his dagger near Samus "You owe me one." And he was off.

Meanwhile a small squad of space pirates found where Ridley had fallen and were carrying him back to base.

"Hurry I think we can still regenerate him."

 **A/N: and here's to future plot devices. Yeah not much of a cliffhanger you're welcome unless of course you guys like cliffhangers then in that case sorry.**


	3. Fated Reunion

**A/N:** HOPE YOU GUYS ARE ENJOYING THE STORY SO FAR. i'M TRYING REALLY HARD TO INCORPORATE METROID'S STORY ELEMENTS INTO MY STORY WHILE ALSO INCLUDING EXPOSITION ABOUT MY CHARACTER. TELL ME HOW I'M DOING SO FAR IN THE REVIEWS AND AS ALWAYS THANKS FOR READING. :)

Chapter 3

Previously: our favorite bounty hunter just had a little run in with Kuroko. Needless to say it wasn't exactly how he planned on meeting her, but whatever works, works. Though unfortunately after their little encounter Samus had to fight Ridley and became severely injured. Thankfully Kuroko was able to defeat Ridley and get Samus to safety, but she's far from safe as her injuries needed immediate medical attention. Not wanting to lose his wager he decided to look into the space pirate's medical lab. Hopefully with their advanced technology they have some useful equipment on hand.

Kuroko was prowling through the jungle, it was wet and grimy all around and the plant and wildlife was far different than on earth. The sky was a sickly reddish color which suited his style of moving around; quietly and unseen. He was using clan trademark technique known as shadowblend. A passive ability that requires no ki and when submerged in a dark shadow, he becomes one with it; completely undetectable by any means including sonar, inferred, even heartbeat sensors cannot locate him. Though a simple shed of light can disperse the shadow and negate this ability.

He eventually came upon the main entrance of their base were a gate blocked the way. He climbed atop a nearby tree to get a better look. The whole base was so gigantic it could be seen from miles away. It was surrounded by a huge wall, was a plain grey color with many different entrances and windows. Inside were lots of space pirates who were patrolling. Sneaking in was going to be rather tough even for him; he would have a better chance at night, but he didn't have that long nor did he know when night time would come. He doubled checked his satchel for supplies; he had some kunai, shrunken, a few smoke bombs, and only two lethal bombs.

"Guess I won't be killing anyone. They're armor is too thick and without my dagger I can't do much."

He thought it through and decided to be completely covert; meaning no killing and no fighting. He'd have to get in and out quick and clean. He saw that they were transporting goods though the gate and decided sneak aboard one while guards were distracted. As the floating ship passed through the base, he got out and looked around, no one in sight. He pulled out the map on his wrist comp.

"Looks like the medical lab isn't too far away from here."

He started walking cautiously making sure coast was clear and that no stray guards were lurking about. It was rather dark inside so he took advantage of it using his shadowblend ability to sneak around unseen. He arrived at the medical lab. It was a simple electronic sliding door with a blue button on the side to open it. There was no other way in so he opened the door and held a kunai up preparing for any space pirates that may be inside. There was no one.

"Out to lunch?"

It quickly disregarded his fortunate luck and started to rummage through the crates and tubes lying around. The lab was a simple set up, lab benches, many different test tubes, and the thing that stood out the most was a large glass cylinder at the back of the lab hooked up to a computer. He took out his scanner and started examining the different items. Most of them were useless, except for a drawer full of syringes. The scanner read _Hyper Regeneration Serum Warning: do use more than twice in one hour. Side effects vary from person to person._

"Hmm this might do the trick." he said to himself

He reached to grab one, but stopped when he heard footsteps coming from beyond the door. He looked around; the room was too open there were no places to hide. Then he saw a darkened area at the ceiling corner.

"Perfect."

He wall jumped up to the corner and blended with the shadow, completely erasing his presence. A space pirate entered shortly after a bit smaller than the ones he saw before. It was mumbling something as it walked by. Kuroko thought that it shouldn't be a problem, but then he felt a sharp pain in his left arm. The pain was like hundreds of needles piercing his muscle with every move; must have been fractured. It was from the fight before; he must have not notice due to the adrenaline rush. He struggled to stay stationary and watched as the space pirate took something from the large cylinder and left. Kuroko dropped to the floor grasping his arm and wincing in pain.

"*pant* That was close, now let's take a look at those meds."

He walked over and took one of the syringes. It was a simple design with s short needle and a cylinder surrounding the needle to insure that it did not go too deep. The pump at the top was like a button one small push was enough to inject the full dose. He put it up to his neck and pressed. Instantly the pain in his arm ceased and his injuries started to disappear.

"Wow, these'll definitely come in handy."

He grabbed a bunch of them and put them in his pouch. He teleported back to where he had left Samus, holding his dagger in a combative stance. He took a quick look around; there was no one. He breathed easy knowing that their location wasn't compromised, but resumed his heavy breathing when he remembered that Samus still needed medical attention. He kneeled down and injected the serum into her neck. He checked his scanner.

"Well this stuff really works wonders. She did come with a crew right, guess I'll save the rest for them if we find them."

He went to wake up Samus, but she still has yet to respond. He sighed and took a seat beside her. He deactivated his helmet and expected to gasp for air, but it seemed as if his body had adapted to the environment, pulled out a cigarette, lit it and blew out a puff of smoke.

"Whatever, *blows out a puff of smoke* not like it'll kill me. Guess I'll wait till sleeping beauty here wakes up. "

He waited for a while, about an hour passed and he fell asleep as he grew bored of just sitting around. He was awakened by his shadow senses. he looked up as he saw a foot about to drop down on his face.

"Woah!" he said as he quickly rolled out of the way

Samus was up and kickin' again in a literal sense. She tried to punch him, but he was able to catch her fist.

"Wait a minute sleeping beauty, I'm not the enemy." said Kuroko trying to convince her

"Why should I believe you?!" she retorted

"Who do you think tended to your injuries?" he replied

She looked down and put her hand on where her once fractured ribs were. They were no longer broken in fact she felt good as new. Next she put went to make sure her weapon was still at her side and just as she did Kuroko held up a gun.

"Looking for this?" he said as he tossed her weapon back

"Who are you?" she asked as she inspected her weapon

"I'm the Shadow Merc however I'll give you the honor of calling me Kuroko." he said while brushing he hand through his long black hair "I was hired to find out what had happened to you and your team speaking of which where is your team?"

"We were captured. I was the only one that managed to escape." explained Samus "I had a plan to free them until you and Ridley shoed up; I'm sorry that I mistook you for an enemy."

She bowed her head while profusely apologizing seeing as how her spontaneous decision inconvenienced the both of them. Kuroko hadn't noticed before because she was lying down, but she was rather tall for a woman at least four inches taller than he was.

"Relax no harm no foul." replied Kuroko "So what exactly was your plan?"

"It was simple enough; each of my team members has a tracking device on them just in case we were separated." she pulled out a mini pad and pulled up a map "It looks like they're still there. Quickly let's go."

"Ladies first." he gestured her to go on ahead

Samus rolled her eyes as she turned to take the lead. Kuroko stood there for a moment only to stare at her backside; his eyes trailing up and down taking in every ounce of her perfect, slender body.

"This may be more entertaining than I thought." he murmured to himself

"You coming?" she called back noticing that he wasn't following

"Hm? yea coming." he replied back as he started walking

They walked through the jungle like area and eventually came upon the space pirates' base. It was just as they both remembered it, crawling with space pirates. Samus no longer thought of Kuroko as an enemy, but still there was something offsetting about him to her, so she remained suspicious keeping him at arm's length.

"So how do you plan on sneaking in?" asked Kuroko "I've got myself covered. You?"

"Just do whatever it is you do." she answered "I'll meet you at that platform." she pointed to a balcony with an open doorway on the second floor

Immediately after setting the destination she took a huge leap over the wall surrounding the base. Kuroko was impressed even he had to climb a tree to hop this wall. Once Samus reached the floor she darted from cover to cover hiding behind hover carriers and bushes. Once she reached the location she wall bounced and shot out a whip like beam from her gun. It latched onto balcony above and she whisked herself up. Atop the ledge she saw Kuroko patiently for her to arrive.

"How did you- When did you get up here?" she asked blatantly surprised

"I did whatever it is I do." he replied jokingly as he gestured her to lead the way again

She ignored his pompous attitude and continued to lead the way. Unbeknownst to her once he was in range he threw his dagger up to the balcony and teleported to it. This dagger is no ordinary weapon it his is keepsake and the only thing he has left to remember his clan. Infused in the dagger is a piece of his soul; he must simply will it and it will appear by his side or vice versa.

They continued walking the second floor was no different than the first plain grayish color with different doors leading to god knows where. There weren't as many space pirates patrolling this area.

 _"_ _Must be out searching for us."_ Kuroko thought to himself

As Kuroko was pondering on the space pirates' status he bumped into Samus who held her hand up signaling him to stop.

"What?" he whispered

She gave him a frustrated look and pointed around the corner. There were two space pirates standing guard at a door. Samus took out her mini pad just to confirm.

"They're in that room." she informed "I'll take them out."

She closed her eyes and started to focus. An orange suit began to materialize around her body, but stopped and then disappeared.

"Dammit my power suit's not ready yet." she whispered in a frustrated tone

"Whatta ya got on you?" asked Kuroko

"All's I got is my stun pistol." replied Samus

"Perfect." said Kuroko "When I give the signal stun the one furthest away from us."

She nodded and decided to trust in his plan even though she may regret it. Kuroko jumped out from behind the corner, threw his dagger, and gave Samus the signal. She jumped out and fired at the one furthest away. Before the guards had time to react the one Samus shot was stunned, unable to move, and Kuroko had teleported to the other one gouging his dagger in its skull. While the other one was stunned he did the same killing it instantly. Samus was awestruck at what just happened; it was just gone by so fast.

"Enough staring blondie. Hurry before someone wanders by."

"Shut up." she retorted back

She hurried to one of the guards and searched for the key card. She found it and opened the door. Inside was a simple holding cell made only to fit a few prisoners. There were six men in a holding cell most of them were injured. They looked up; their faces lit up with a spring of hope and joy.

"Samus is that you?" asked the man in front

The man was slightly injured and seemed to be the leader of the squad. His short dark brown hair was all ruffled up and tattered dark skin made it he look like he'd been through hell. He looked back and saw Kuroko entering behind Samus.

"Who's the little guy?" he asked

He stood up along with the rest of his squad. They were all towering over him at least 6'5 being the shortest one.

"That's Kuroko he was sent here to rescue us." answered Samus "Are you okay, Anthony?"

She went over and used the key card to unlock the cell doors. The beams creating the bars deactivated and they were free. The man in front helped the injured ones out of the cell, but didn't get far.

"Yeah I'm fine. What is he supposed to be, a ninja?" said Anthony

He hit nail right on the head. Anyone could see that he was one, though in this day and age people would just assume he was fooling around or cosplaying, but aside from the high tech suit he was wearing a similar getup was his normal mission attire.

"Yes I am." said Kuroko "and you're a freed prisoner. Can we get a move on before guards show up?"

He scoffed at his comment and proceeded to assist his men out of the cell. They were moving too slow and weren't going to get anywhere at this rate. The injuries they had were too much of an issue. Kuroko thought for a moment then remembered the doses of serum he stole from the medical lab. He took it out and tossed a few to him.

"Here use this they'll get ya up and running."

"You sure this is safe?" Anthony asked while examining the syringe

"It worked on Samus and I, I think you'll be fine." he explained

He acknowledged his comment and took a deep breath and told his men to inject the serum into their neck. They all did so and within seconds their injuries and pain melted away, completely vanished. They stood up straight and stretched their arms and legs feeling relieved as if they just had a good night's rest.

"Thanks." Anthony said coldly "Now let's go."

Anthony and Kuroko didn't seem to get off to a great start. In Anthony eyes Kuroko seemed nothing more than a joke; someone who shouldn't even be here on this mission. The suit and scarf may have been the tipping point of that judgement. Not to mention his only weapon was his dagger and a few projectiles that looked like they were from the stone age. Kuroko on the other hand didn't care about any of them they were just one big paycheck and perhaps something to entertain his should he get bored. They dragged the now dead space pirates into the holding cell and continued down the corridor.

"Hang on we gotta make a stop here." ordered Anthony as he was pointing to a room up ahead

"Why?" asked Kuroko

"We have to pick up our gear."

They open the electronic door. It was a simple room with metal tables and racks. It was filled with a variety of weapons all of different shapes and sizes. Clearing it was a room meant for storing stolen weaponry and armor. Anthony and his men grabbed their suits and weapons and fitted into them. It was a simple design with blue boots and body plate made out of some metal alloy, grey leggings, and holsters to hold his guns and grenades; complete with a blue helmet and orange visors. They had their plasma assault rifles drawn and ready to move out.

"Okay let's go." ordered Anthony as he pulled out a mini pad then began to lead the way

"What's our next move?" asked Kuroko

"We're gonna find Samus's ship and get the hell outta here." replied Anthony

"Why not yours?" asked Kuroko

"Ours was destroyed when they found us, though for some reason they kept Samus's" explained Anthony

"Huh I wonder why." said Kuroko

"It doesn't matter." Interrupted Samus "We just have to find my ship and contact the Galactic Federation when we get off this planet."

"Who?" questioned Kuroko

"The Galactic Federation." answered Anthony "We were stationed at Final Frontier Exploration Division on you planet. Anyways quite down we should be arriving at the ship's location soon."

They were now on the basement level of the base. As they walked they entered into a large room that looked like a mining area. The walls were a rocky exterior clearly not man made and there was a giant machine near the center that resembled a large cannon. There were many different mining tools lying around along with carts to transfer materials. At the far end of the mine was Samus's ship along with a bay door on the ceiling. Most space pirates were digging and carrying some blue substance out in the carts. Anthony saw this and froze in fear; he knew exactly what they were mining.

"Phazon?" whispered Anthony, fear obvious in his voice "I thought we destroyed it all. That must be why they're ambushing the trade routes they needed ships to transfer the phazon."

"What the hell is phazon?" asked Kuroko

"Long story short it's a dangerous substance." explained Anthony "We need to get to the ship and call in for back up. What's the plan Samus?"

Samus was not paying attention instead only one thing caught her eye. On a platform overseeing the min was a dark blue figure that resembled Samus. She was standing there watching everything then all of a sudden turned her head in the group's direction and took aim. Samus's eyes widened.

"Get down!" she screamed

A large ball of blue phazon energy shot from her arm and collided with the wall behind them. They dodged the bulk of the attack, but suffered from the collateral damage it had done. That attack was nothing like Samus's blast it was far more powerful and used much more destructive force as it made a large hole in the wall behind them. They all recovered from the blast, but Samus had a different look on her face not; a serious, fierce expression.

"Go to the ship I'll handle Dark Samus." she walked forward and rematerialized her power suit then ran at Dark Samus

"You heard the lady let's move!" ordered Anthony, but before they could take one step a barrage of phazon blasts were fired at them

They dove for cover behind some mining equipment and crates, but were indefinably pinned down and limited on options. Anthony and his men started to return fire, but they were outmanned and out gunned especially by the one manning the phazon turret. The space pirates realized this and slowly advanced on their position.

"Argh, dammit take this and make yourself useful." yelled Anthony as he threw Kuroko a gun

"That won't be necessary." said Kuroko as he dropped his dagger to the ground "When I give the signal run for the ship I'll cover you."

"What the hell do you think you can do by yourself, there's dozens of them, you're ill equip, and frankly I don't like you!" argued Anthony

Kuroko wasn't paying attention as he was focusing what little ki he had due to the four seals still being intact. After a brief moment a multitude of shadowy silhouettes of his dagger appeared around the entire mine; all of them in different spots. The daggers then took on the exact color, shape, and size of his dagger.

"Shadow Shaping: Multi-clone."

Without another word he disappeared and reappeared next to the space pirate manning the turret. It was taken by surprise and didn't have time to react to the dagger now buried deep in its throat.

"NOW!"

A/N: YUP KUROKO GETS TO SHOW OFF SOME OF HIS AWESOME POWERS WHICH I'M SURE YOU GUYS WERE DYING TO SEE (UNLESS O/C YOU READ MY OTHER STORY) AND SAMUS IS GONNA HAVE YET ANOTHER FATED REUNION WITH HER DARK COUNTERPART. UNTIL NEXT TIME. :)


	4. Contract

A/N: HI ALL HOPE YOU'RE ALL ENJOYING HE STORY SO FAR. KUROKO'S ABOUT TO SHOW OFF SOME MORE OF HIS POWERS. ALSO I'VE DECIDED TO PUT A LITTLE TIDBIT AT THE END OF EACH CHAPTER OR MOST OF THEM AT LEAST. IT'S CALLED EXPOSITION OVERVIEW. IT'S JUST AS IT SOUNDS I WILL EXPLAIN A FEW THINGS I'VE MENTIONED IN THE STORY TO THOSE WHO DIDN'T READ MY PREVIOUS SAGE MAINLY KUROKO'S POWERS, ABILITIES, AND BACKROUND. ANYWAYS AS ALWAYS THANKS AND LET ME KNOW IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT YOU'D LIKE TO KNOW. KEEP READING FANFIC. :)

Chapter 4

Contract…

Previously: Samus and Kuroko had just rescued the missing team members one of whom is named Anthony, a large, tall man who is currently the leader of this mission. They went to recover Samus's ship to get off this planet and contact the Galactic Federation, but before they could Dark Samus had found them out and initiated a duel with her counterpart, while Kuroko and Anthony's men were pinned down by the storm of phazon shots. Seeing how their options were limited Kuroko decided to use what little ki he had left and tried to buy as much time as he could for Anthony and his men to prepare the ship.

Anthony and his men race for the ship. One space pirates took notice of this ordered the rest and turned their attention back to them, but just as they did Kuroko appeared directly in front of the one who issued said order.

"You shouldn't turn your back to then enemy."

He was slightly above the space pirate and buried his dagger into its throat instantly killing it. It screamed in terror which was more of a light choke as green blood oozed from its throat. The other space pirates saw their commander drop to the floor and started to panic firing at Kuroko in a chaotic state. Their leader had fallen and Dark Samus was too preoccupied to issue orders. Kuroko took advantage of their confused state and slowly whittled down their ranks. As he kept them distracted, Anthony and his men were opening the bay doors and prepping the ship for takeoff.

Meanwhile Samus and dark Samus were engaged in a fist and fire fight. She shot at her with her plasma cannon, but it had little to no effect on Dark Samus's phazon enforced armor. She kept falling back slowly and fired a charged shot at her. It collided causing a small explosion, but when the smoke cleared she was still walking slowly towards her with her cannon raised.

"Hahaha let me show you a real attack." she unleased a charged shot of her own seemingly equal in power to Samus's

Samus turned into a morphball and rolled out of the way. The blast barley missed and melted a large hole in the metal platform she was on; much bigger than the one Samus made before. After she dodged she dropped a bomb which exploded propelling her through the air. She turned back into human form midair and fired her freeze ray. It hit Dark Samus's legs freezing her in place. Samus smiled as plan took motion fired a barrage of missiles, topped off with a charged shot. A large explosion happened.

"How's that?" said Samus as she tried to catch her breath

The smoke settled, but Dark Samus was only kneeling on the ground partially injured from the attack.

"My turn." stated Dark Samus

Meanwhile, Kuroko was still keeping them busy slowly taking out space pirate after space pirate. However one of them eventually took on the role as commander and ordered them to regroup onto him. They huddled up in in a circle in one location; their guns pointed each in a different direction. Whenever Kuroko appeared they all fired at him, but he was able to teleport to another dagger's location to avoid the attack.

"Hmm how cute, you've all rallied." a multitude of shots were fired again, but he dodged "Still pointless if you can't hit me."

He continued this for a while until keeping them busy, but then he noticed that Samus seemed to yet again need assistance.

Meanwhile, Samus and Dark Samus were still settling their differences. She began to run while also firing a few phazon empowered plasma shots. Once she got in close she initiated close quarters combat with Samus. Samus was defiantly more skilled and quicker; able to dodge all blows and counter attack as needed, but Dark Samus was too strong and her armor was too sturdy to deal any damage. She realized this and tried to gain some distance. However this was Dark Samus's plan all along. As soon as Samus tried to gain distance, Dark Samus fired her own volley of missiles; at least twice as many as Samus did. Samus was in the middle of retreating and didn't have time to dodge completely and was hit by the explosion from the missiles, each one being twice as powerful as Samus's missiles. She was knocked to the ground and her suit dematerialized upon receiving too much damage. She got to her knees and looked up only to be staring down the barrel of Dark Samus's cannon.

"Goodbye."

The cannon charged up and she took a step forward and heard a *clink*. She looked down as noticed she had kicked a dagger. From out of nowhere Kuroko appeared. Dark Samus was momentarily surprised and tried to shoot him, but he was able to catch the cannon and redirect the shot. Afterwards he did a spinning roundhouse kick knocking her back and threw down a smoke bomb.

"Time to go, princess."

He picked her up princess style of course, and teleported to where the ship was beginning to take off. I looked like Anthony and his team was able to get the ship running and the bay door open as the ship was already about fifteen feet off the ground.

"Comon guys get a move on!" shouted Anthony

"Okay up ya go princess." he threw Samus up and Anthony caught her

One Samus was safely on board Kuroko threw his dagger up to the ship and teleported on board. The ship slowly rose from the ground and out into the open. The sudden force from the rockets caused some of the nearby space pirates to get thrown back. Though for some reason the ship was moving a little slow for people who were trying to get away.

"Why the hell're we moving so slow?!" asked Kuroko

"The warp drive is still chargin just a bit longer!" answered Anthony

The sound of battle started to fade from their ears as the ship slowly left the vicinity of the mine. The sickly red sky came into view as they rose from what seemed like an eternity in the phazon mines Anthony noticed something rise from the bay doors they had just exited. His eyes widened in fear, it was the large cannon they had saw before.

"OH shit! Evasive action NOW!" ordered Anthony

The large cannon fired a large beam of phazon, its stream coursing with power as it headed toward the ship. Anthony's men were able to steer the ship in a way to avoid the beam, but not entirely. The attack took part of the ship's engine with it. An alarm started to sound and the ship moved even slower.

"Dammit, the warp drive's been damaged, it'll take minute or two to charge to max capacity!" shouted one of Anthony's men

"We don't have a minute!" argued Anthony "That cannon's getting ready to fire again."

"Fifteen more seconds." said the man at the controls

The cannon was once again reaching maximum power and about to vaporize them out of the sky. Anthony's men were fumbling around with the controls trying to get the warp drive to charge faster having little to no effect. Then they tried to see if the ship was at all maneuverable, but it was a still as a stone. Kuroko realized the success of the mission was in jeopardy and took a step forward.

"You have five seconds to get it working." he said as he held up his hand to concentrate "First Seal: Release!"

A surge of ki coursed through his veins. He felt invigorated as the ki overflowed the very core of his being. The cannon unleashed a large beam of phazon, much bigger than the one it fired before. Kuroko shadow-stepped in front of the attack.

"Shadow Shaping: Mass Shield!"

The beam of phazon collided with Kuroko's shield with great force. The force of the beam shook the bones in his arms as he desperately tried to negate the attack. Samus and some of Anthony's men only stood there watching in awe as this one man held back the very thing that could destroy them. However as amazing as this feat was he was running out of time, but it looked like they almost got the warp drive up and running.

"4, 3, 2, 1…!"

Kuroko had run out of time and he restored the seal. He was able to negate the actual beam of phazon, which mind you should have completely annihilated them, but the explosion was still a threat. It forced him and the ship backwards. He slammed into the ship; he could feel the bones in his arms crumple as the pain seared through his whole nervous system. To add even more issues the ships engines were knocked out and they began to quickly descend to the ground.

"Engines, down! Navigation system offline, we're gonna crash sir!" shouted the man at the controls

"Arghh! Brace for impact!" yelled Anthony

The flaming ship came raining down from the sky like a meteor crashing down from earth. All members inside braced for impact hoping to come out of this alive for even their power suits wouldn't protect them from this. Kuroko, who was still imbedded in the starboard side of the ship, looked over and simply saw the ground.

"Ah shit…"

Samus's ship crashed into the ground creating a small explosion. A puff of smoke rose to the air marking where they had crashed. Kuroko was violently thrown off the ship. He tumbled across the ground until he eventually ran into tree. He looked up at the crash site; his vision blurry due to exhaustion and injuries. The ship was still somewhat intact and on fire, but his vision became blurrier and his consciousness drifted away into the land of dreams.

"*GAAAASSSPP*"

Kuroko woke up breathing heavily. His vision was back to normal and he looked at his wrist comp. Only about five minutes had passed since he was unconscious. The sky was getting darker as it seemed that nightfall was approaching. Based on the trajectory they landed somewhat far from the base. He looked at the ship; it was still on fire. He looked inside and saw Samus and Anthony still lying within the flames out cold. Luckily he managed to pull them both to safety with only a few minor burns. The fire still raged on.

"Better put this out before it gives away our location." stated Kuroko

He thought for a moment then remembered that Anthony and his men had ice beams. He decided to give it a shot and shot at the fire. A small blue ray made contact with the fire and it began to shrink. He smiled to himself and shot the fire some more; it eventually went out. Taking a deep breath he took a seat on the ground beside Samus.

"I think that's three times you owe me now. ARGH!"

He grasped his left arm as he felt the pain eating away at his arm. Not to mention the burns he just received was helping at all. Without the release of any seals he couldn't heal himself. He then remembered the syringes he had and pulled one out. However just has he was about to inject himself with the serum, he looked around at everyone; they were all heavily injured. He then counted in his head.

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6." he counted the number of syringes this time "1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Dammit."

He let out a big sigh and started to gather what appeared to be wood from the tree. It was getting rather cold out so he made a fire. From the rubble of the ship he made a makeshift pot and boiled some water. Afterwards Kuroko sat down and gazed at the now black blue sky.

"Hmp you all owe one now."

A little blonde girl was playing outside happy and enjoying her time with her parents on K2-L. They were one big happy family and always thought they were going to stay this way. Until one day space pirates attack the peaceful denizens of K2-L. The little girl was unaware of the fact that her home was under attack and her parents tried to flee along with. As they were running the little girl was saw a large dragon like creature and being the innocent child she was, attempted to befriend him. The creature snickered as he was about to impale the little girl before her mother jumped in front of her shielding her from his claws. Blood stained the little girl's white dress as she looked at her mother in despair; her face frozen in terror.

"*Cough* Run… Samus…" she whimpered as she coughed up blood with each word she spoke

Her father picked her up and started to run. Tears formed in his eyes as he forced himself to not look back.

"MOOOMMMMMM!"

"*GASP*"

Samus had woken up from her dream or better yet nightmare and was back to reality. She was sweating profusely as she had not had that dream in quite a while. Seeing Ridley again must have resurfaced some painful memories, but she had no time to think about that. She looked around and the first think she saw was a cup a steaming hot tea beside her along with a hand towel and a syringe atop it. To her left was Kuroko sitting by a fire cross –legged and sipping on some green tea and eating instant cup noodles. It looked like he had somehow fashioned a makeshift pot out of the scrap metal from her ship and was boiling water. She tried to get up, but there was a sharp pain in right leg; it was definitely fractured. Not only that, but her entire body was covered in bruises. It was painful to even sit let alone stand.

"Easy there, Samus." said Kuroko while after swallowing "I left that syringe there for a reason.

He tried to hide it, but the way Kuroko avoided using his left arm gave rise to some suspicions she had. She looked at the tea and syringe then back at Kuroko.

"Did I say you could use my ship and cookware?" retorted Samus trying to hide her feelings of gratitude

He gave a brief smile out of respect for the bounty hunter and threw her a cup of uncooked ramen noodles. She caught it and gave him a questioning look.

"Here, may not be as fancy as what you're used to though." said Kuroko as he continued to eat

She observed him as he threw her the food. Again he used his right to throw her the food. He even went out of the way to set his food down throw it then pick up and resumed eating. From what she gathered of only knowing him for about a day, he wasn't the type to go through all those steps. She picked up the tea along with the syringe and towel and limped over to sit by the fire.

"You sure you don't need this." she said holding up the syringe "Cause if you do I'll be fine I'm not a normal woman."

"Hahaha." he laughed; a good laugh he hasn't had in while "Oh and from what you've seen do I look like a normal man?"

"Touché." said Samus "Should we really be having a fire up won't they spot us?"

"Don't worry I've examined the canopy of the area, this fire is small enough to go undetected." explained Kuroko

She nodded her head in agreement. To her if he was able to climb to the top of a tree and scout the area his arm should be fine. Perhaps it was just her imagination. She took the syringe and injected it into her neck. Just like before her injuries vanished and her broken leg was now fully functional. She opened her cup of instant noodles and poured some water in.

"Where'd you get the food from I didn't have any on my ship." asked Samus

"Hm?" he said with a mouth full of noodles then swallowed "I always bring along provisions on assignments just in case. Go ahead eat up."

She opened the cup after three minutes then stopped when she realized she didn't have anything to eat them with.

"Um do you have a fork?" she asked

"Sorry only got chopsticks, hope you're okay with that." he answered as he handed her a pair of simple wooden chopsticks

She accepted them and prepared to eat. The only problem was she had no idea how to use chopsticks. For a while she fiddled around with them trying to hold them correctly while at the same time being discreet about her lack of knowledge of using chopsticks. It didn't work as he noticed right away. He chuckled to himself.

"Here let me help you." offered Kuroko

"I got it!" she snapped back

"No you don't." insisted Kuroko

Samus gave in as he held up her hand and placed the chopsticks in her hand. Pain shot through his arm as he held up her hand, but he kept a straight face and endured it. His other hand gently caressed hers as he moved the top chopstick up and down showing her motions to go through. She blushed and took her hand back.

"Th-thanks I got it now." she stammered as she began to eat the noodles

As they ate Samus noticed that Kuroko no longer had his mask on. She was curious to what he looked like under that mask and decided to move closer to get a better look. She was surprised at what she saw. He had small facial features which were partially covered by his long silky black hair and the cuts and bruises. Overall he was quite a looker. Kuroko took notice as almost nothing gets by him.

"Something the matter?" he asked nonchalantly

"Huh? Nothing!" she quickly got back to eating

While they were fooling around they heard footsteps from behind them. They turned their head and saw Anthony and his men walking about. Based on how they looked they must have taken the syringes already.

"Ah I see you found the syringe I left you." said Kuroko "How's the ship looking?"

"According to my men the ship's fixable the only issue is getting the parts." stated Anthony

He noticed the food and tea they had, but paid it no mind. Unlike what he did for Samus, Kuroko sorta just threw the syringe near Anthony whether he found it or not wasn't his problem. Kuroko didn't exactly get along with Anthony either.

"K that shouldn't be too hard." announced Kuroko "I remember there being a scrapyard on the map. Tomorrow we can split into groups of three, two stay with the ship and the other four can salvage parts and acquire provisions."

"Shut up pipsqueak!" yelled Anthony "I'm in charge of this mission and I'll make the decisions. Understood?"

"Oh yeah? Give me one good reason why I should blindly follow the man who led us into a death trap?"

"Shut up! if you woulda just listened to me we could've disabled the cannon and make it off this planet." retorted Anthony

"Hmp actions speak louder than words and you've shone none." replied Kuroko

He turned around and put his mask back on. As he was about to walk away his shadow senses went off and he turned around to see Anthony's fist no more than two inches away from his face.

"How's this for action!"

Kuroko was able to duck just in time, but Anthony continued his assault. He used his large size to his advantage making Kuroko stay on the defensive. There was little Kuroko could do to counter attack due to his massive size; not to mention the power suit added even more to his power and weight. Kuroko was fine, but his injuries caught up to him and he slipped up. Anthony threw a powerful right hook forcing Kuroko to block with his left arm. *CRACK* Kuroko could feel the fracture in his bones growing bigger. Just as he was about to land another punch Kuroko disappeared.

"What the-?"

He reappeared only a few feet from his original location slightly above Anthony and delivered a powerful kick to his face. It was a normal kick and with Anthony's large frame and power suit to back him up, the kick did little but made him angrier. As Kuroko landed on the ground Anthony threw another punch. This time it connected cleanly with Kuroko's face and sent him flying backwards. He got up, but Anthony was already next to him getting ready to attack again. Kuroko had no choice. He teleported a few feet to the right to dodge the punch. Using the last of his ki he delivered a powerful ki empowered kick. This time Anthony felt it and he was the one sent flying back. Kuroko followed up by throwing his dagger at Anthony and disappeared in a wisp of shadowy smoke. Anthony was on his knees and was slightly disoriented. Once he came to he froze as Kuroko was back to back with him, dagger drawn and at his throat.

"Enough!" shouted Samus

Anthony's men, who were focused on the fight, stopped and turned their attention to the angry bounty hunter. Then they looked back at Kuroko and Anthony. Kuroko removed his dagger from Anthony's throat.

"Tsk, fine."

Kuroko sheathed his dagger and extended his hand to help up Anthony. Anthony feeling dissatisfied with the outcome, hit his hand away and helped himself up.

"For now we should get some rest." suggested Samus "We can decide what to do tomorrow."

They all agreed and took shelter inside the ship. Before Kuroko went to sleep he covered the ship in a bunch of branches and leaves to make the ship a little less noticeable. He went into the ship and decided to call it a day.

"Night, Samus." he said in a suave voice

"*Ahem* Night."

Kuroko awoke, but he wasn't in the ship, he was back in that dark corridor. He walked down the dull hallway until he reached the barred cage at the end. Behind the bars was Kagemaru leaning against the wall. He had no face no defining features he was just a shadowy figure.

"It's rare that you call me here, Kagemaru." said Kuroko "In any case make it quick I need to get some sleep."

"Just checkin' up on you." pestered Kagemaru "You sure you don't wanna undue that first seal you look pretty roughed up."

"Heh shoulda figured." replied Kuroko "Sorry I have no intention of losing our wager, unless of course it benefits me in some way."

"Suite yourself."

Kuroko faded back into his own mind. Hours passed and he was awakened up by the feeling of a pair of eyes piercing his very being. He opened his eyes; his vision blurred from the night of slumber. As his vision cleared he saw the image of a blonde woman with green eyes staring at him. It was Samus.

"It's not polite to stare." said the now awake Kuroko

Samus backed off surprised by how alert he was; all's she was doing was watching him. she regained her composure and cleared her throat.

"I was keeping watch in case space pirates showed up." she implied

"Uhuh, I'm sure I'm not the only one these space pirates would attack." he replied teasingly

As they were chatting about Anthony came in to see if Kuroko was awake. He looked even scarier with the swollen eye from Kuroko kick. He noticed the two chatting it up and interrupted.

"Ready to roll?" he asked coldly

"Yeah so what's the plan?" asked Kuroko as he gathered his gear

"Anthony and I discussed it." explained Samus "Since he knows the base the best he and one of his men will go and gather supplies. It's my ship so I know what parts fit best so Kuroko, you and I are heading to the scrapyard. The other two will stay behind and repair what they can."

"K seems simple enough, let's go" agreed Kuroko

"Okay you're with me let's go." ordered Anthony as he signaled one of his men to join him

Anthony still seemed cold towards Kuroko probably because of what happened yesterday though it could be because he wasn't able to accompany Samus with her assignment. In fact he was more distant and cruel then he was before. Kuroko seemed to notice, but Samus was oblivious to it however he discarded the fact and they went their separate ways.

Kuroko and Samus were walking through the jungle. The sky was back to it sickly red color and the wildlife was moving about and infested the jungle. Compared to the beautiful starry night sky the daytime was terrible; to Kuroko its only redeeming quality was how dark it made his surroundings. The air was thick with a weird jungle stench, but because his body adapted to it, it was breathable at least. Samus was walking beside him. Her power suit was deactivated much to Kuroko's enjoyment and she was even more alert than usual. Unlike Kuroko Samus want one to play around while working. To her, work was work, nothing more nothing less. She didn't have time for nonsense. Whenever Kuroko would try to crack a joke or fool around Samus hushed him and kept moving. Eventually they arrived to their destination. It took a few hours to reach as it was not too far from the base itself. Before then was a large junkyard. Tattered and broken ships were piled up all around. It was all dusty devoid of life; no vegetation could be seen anywhere within the compound. Samus reactivated her power suit.

"Okay I'll scout ahead and give you the okay to advance." suggested Kuroko

"Right."

Kuroko went on ahead leaping atop different ships to get a better view. From what he could see there were no enemies. Not even a single guard. He signaled Samus to advance slowly and she did just that. Eventually Samus spotted a ship that looked like it had some of the parts she needed she began to rummage through the pile of junk.

"Keep a look out while I search this ship." ordered Samus

"Yeah, yeah I got it."

He climbed atop the one of the ships to view the surrounding area. His arm was still broken and barely usable, but as long as he didn't get into combat he should be fine. Time passed and Kuroko grew bored. He fiddled around with some of the junk to try and pass time. Suddenly his shadow senses went off. He looked around there was no one insight. He continued to look around desperately trying to find what set his senses off until he spotted two space pirates heading around a corner and dangerously close to Samus. They hadn't spotted her yet, but the second they turned the corner she would be in their sights. He jolted up ready to act, but then groaned and grabbed his arm in pain.

"Okay I can do this." he took a deep breath

He threw his dagger at the space pirate in the back and teleported behind it. He kicked it behind the knees causing it to kneel tot eh ground and slit its throat. The other one took notice, but Kuroko used the now dead space pirate as a springboard and jumped up to its height and pieced its skull killing it instantly. He hid the bodies and rushed back to Samus.

"Something wrong?" asked Samus

"*PANT* Nope all good here." replied Kuroko short of breath

"Good I found the stuff I needed, let's head back."

They walked back to where their ship was. Nightfall was approaching it was getting harder to see. Luckily they made it back uneventfully. Anthony was already there waiting for them to return.

"Ah good you're okay Samus." said Anthony relived "Did you get the parts?"

"Yeah I got everything I needed we should be able to get the ship up and running by tomorrow." replied Samus

"Uh yeah I'm okay too." said Kuroko

Anthony ignored him and ordered his men to get to work on the ship immediately. They rushed to Samus and took the bag of parts and began to repair the ship.

"You wouldn't know anything about this just go stand lookout." suggested Anthony

Kuroko sighed and went into one of the trees to keep an eye on things. He sat cross-legged hoping that nothing too exciting would happen. The night passed without a hitch and morning came. Kuroko awoke to see the ship was completely fixed and ready to fly them off this planet. He hopped down from his spot in the tree and went to take a closer look at the ship.

"Wow you guys do good work." praised Kuroko

"Okay let's go the faster we move the faster we can get home." ordered Anthony

They all boarded the ship and prepared to take off. The ship engines roared as the rockets fired up. It began to take flight and they were in the air. All was going according to plan until one of Anthony's men spotted a small creature in the distance. They froze on horror as that creature was Ridley, but he was different. His skin was covered in a metallic armor and his claws were also reinforced with metal. Riding atop him was none other than dark Samus

"Him? I thought I killed him!" exclaimed Kuroko

"Obviously not!" retorted Anthony "Quickly, get us out of here."

His men quickly turned the ship around and started to race away from the terrifying duo. Samus's ship was fast, but Ridley was just as fast. He flew at the ship with astonishing speed and launched a few plasma balls. Anthony's men did their best to maneuver the ship to steer clear of the attacks, but they could only do so much. Plasma exploded as it hit the ship's hull the crew stabilized themselves as the ship shook violently.

"Dammit we won't last much longer without the shields." yelled Anthony

"You didn't repair the shields?" shouted Kuroko "Why the hell not?"

"Quite we were short on time we couldn't risk spending two day on this planet." retorted Anthony

"Will you two stop fighting for two seconds and let me think!" yelled Samus

But there was nothing to think about. A ship flying through the air without any shields mine as well be a sitting duck. Weapons wouldn't do much as Ridley was too agile. Kuroko didn't want to lose his wager, but there were no more options. As the ship took more hits and began to slowly descend he stood up and stepped forward and spoke

"I can save us, but to do so I must forfeit my wager." explained Kuroko

"Wager? We're about to die and all's you care about is some wager?!" screamed Anthony

"My rule is if I am to lose a wager purposely it is because I get something else in return." said Kuroko in a calm tone

"What are you saying?" asked Samus

"Well I've never had a woman infused with Chozo DNA." he gazed at her seductively string deep into her eyes

Anthony started yelling, but Kuroko and Samus blocked it out. The words echoed through her head as the member of the team desperately tried to keep the ship afloat. She removed her helmet and stared Kuroko intently.

"Fine I accept your terms." she said emotionlessly "After this if, no, when we survive I'm…yours."

Another plasma shot hit the ship and they were falling even faster. Kuroko smiled to himself and uttered the infamous words known by all those who had ever crossed paths with him.

"Contract accepted."

Almost instantly a surge of ki erupted throughout his body rushing through his veins. A shadowy smoke now enveloped his hands and feet. His eyes became more serious than ever and his arm was healing and fast. He had released the first seal. Looking outside he put on hand on his head and cracked his neck. He jumped from the ship and floated in midair.

"Looks like I lost the wager Kagemaru, but at least I got something else."

EXPOSITION OVERVIEW: KUROKO HAS A BEING HOUSING INSIDE OF HIM ONE THAT GAVE RISE TO THE KAGE CLAN. ALONG BEING PART OF THE KAGE CLAN LINEAGE HE HAS A WIDE ARRAY OF POWERS ONE OF WHICH IS CALLED "SHADOW SHAPING". IT IS A TECHNIQUE THAT BLENDS KAGEMARU'S SHADOW POWERS WITH THEIR OWN TECHNIQUES CREATING A COMPLETELY NEW ONE. IT BASICALLY ALLOWS HIM TO SHAPE HIS OWN SHADOWS INTO ANYTHING HE DESIRES. MORE ADVANCED VERSIONS INCLUDE HAVE THE SHAPES ACTUALLY TAKE ON A REAL FORM COPYING ALL PROPERTIES OF WHATEVER IT TOOK SHAPE OF.

ONE MORE THING YOU GUYS CAN CHOOSE WHO KUROKO FIGHTS IN THE NEXT CHAPTER JUST LEAVE A REVIEW OF WHO YOU WANT IT TO BE RIDLEY OR DARK SAMUS!?


	5. Enter the Shadows

Chapter 5

Enter the Shadows

Previously: Samus and Kuroko were just about ready to part from this gloomy planet. However a new problem arose; Dark Samus along a newly reformed Ridley have appeared and attacked the departing team. The ship was descending fast, Samus and Anthony's men had few effective weapons, and Kuroko was still injured. Knowing this he still did not want to lose his wager as he hates losing unless he could win something in return for losing. So he gave Samus a choice become his in exchange for some of his unlocked power. Samus accepted his terms and with that Kuroko did what he promised.

With his first seal now undone Kuroko now had access to a portion of his abilities and was ready to put them to use. He noticed that Ridley and Dark Samus were circling around, preparing for another attack. He jumped out of the plummeting ship and within not but a second a feint shadowy aura surrounded him.

"Shadow Control: Grasp."

He held his hands up and started to float in the air. The ship too started to float then slowly changed pace and landed safely on the ground. Once the ship was safely put he turned his attention back the duo flying throughout the air. They had already made a full roundabout and were now charging at him. He quickly maneuvered himself to the side, but the force of the wind knocked him back a bit.

"Tsk, midair combat is exactly my specialty." He murmured to himself "Oh well I can make due. Shadow Shaping: Surface."

A small platform took shape behind him; it looked like a wall of shadowy smoke. He placed both his feet on the platform and with one ki empowered push he sprung off the platform charging head first at Ridley and Dark Samus. This caught Ridley by surprise which caused him to change direction upward to avoid the blow. With his decent maneuverability he was able to barely dodge the attack. However Kuroko performed a summersault and created another platform; this time it was diagonal and facing up. He landed on it and propelled himself upward aiming at Ridley's head. Ridley looked down in time only to see Kuroko's shadowy covered fist collide with his face. His armor remained unscathed, but the force from the blow still stung causing him to flinch in pain throwing Dark Samus off his back. Kuroko then spawned another platform above Ridley and charged down atop Ridley's head forcing him to crash to the ground away from Dark Samus. Samus could only watch in amazement as a spectacular display of aerial combat took place before her. Kuroko traced where Dark Samus and Ridley had landed, took aout his wrist pad and contacted Samus using the safe frequency.

"The reptile's all yours. I'll hand your doppelganger. Be back in bit." said Kuroko

"Wait you don't-"

But he had already shut off the communicator. He descended to where Dark Samus had crashed and prepared to confront her. As he got closer he was shocked at how the resemblance between the two was so uncanny; the only difference was the color of their suits. Dark Samus stood up and brushed the dirt from her suit. The two were facing each other; their eyes made contact and the tension was thick.

"Well then, entertain me." intimidated Kuroko

She remained as cruel and calculating as ever and decided to test the waters before diving in full force. Kuroko took notice and didn't bother using his shadow techniques; he simply deflected each blast with his dagger. However, eventually Kuroko's restless nature got the better of him. Once he felt a break in her firing he extended his right hand and pointed to the right.

"Shadow Control: Force."

A feint shadowy aura surrounded Dark Samus's entire body and she was thrown to the side slamming into a tree. A big cracked indent could be seen where she had crashed, but Kuroko knew that would do little to even dent her armor. He still continued and threw her around the battlefield; her body uncontrollable slamming into trees, rocks, and the ground alike. Kuroko was enjoying himself; rarely did he ever get the chance to toss around his victim like a ragdoll as they usually are neutralized before he has to unleash his first seal. His fun soon was put to a halt as a group a space pirates soon came from trees and surrounded Dark Samus forming defensive circle. They were primed and ready to fire, but as they started shooting a long blade of phazon sliced each of them in two killing them instantly. Dark Samus then retracted her blade and began absorbing the phazon from the blasters dropped by the space pirates. The blue energy crackled as every bit of it flowed into her, empowering the very core to her being. The energy ceased to flow and she shot a look at Kuroko.

"Uh oh that can't be good."

She aimed and fired a phazon blast at Kuroko this time being far more powerful than before. Kuroko deflected the shot, but the force behind it was more than he expected causing him to slightly lose balance. Before he could recover he was bombarded with even more he defended has best he could, but eventually his defenses her shattered and he lost his balance. It was only for a split second, but that was more than enough time for her to fire a fully charged charge shot at him. His eyes widened as the ball of phazon came only inches away from his face. He had no choice but to shadow-step away to avoid taking serious damage.

"So you've gotten a little stronger huh?" stated Kuroko "Okay then let's give this a try hmm? Shadow Shaping: Sword, Armor."

He drew his dagger and sheath. As he channeled his ki two blades of dark shadowy energy took shape around his dagger and sheath. His body then became encased in thick black aura. The blades had the clear shape of a katana, but still retained its shadowy appearance while the armor looked like nothing more than a shroud of smoke encasing him. the only thing that could be seen were his eyes. He shadow-stepped in front of her.

"This might hurt… A LOT!" he shouted as he bashed both swords against her abdomen

She was sent flying back into a tree, but before she could collide with it, Kuroko appeared behind her gave her another blow this time to her back. He continued to shadow-step to different locations each time he sent her flying in a different direction. After about three more hits he delivered a devastating attack which sent her straight through two trees knocking them both over. He knew it wasn't over for he could sense her life force still emanating. She emerged from the fallen trees. This time her armor showed obvious dents and chips meaning his attacks actually did some damage. However it was all for naught as small crackles of phazon appeared and her armor soon repaired itself.

"You've gotta be kidding me."

Dark Samus retaliated by shooting a barrage of ice missiles. He didn't expect her armor to be that durable and was still a little worn out from all the shadow-stepping he did. A shield formed in front of him and he was able to block the attack. Unfortunately crystals of ice exploded around the shield and encased Kuroko in a shell of ice leaving him unable to move. Soon after Samus fired another charge shot at Kuroko completely annihilating the sculpture of ice before her. To her it appears as if everything except his feet were gone, but once she took a closer look she saw nothing.

"Shadow Shaping: Shadow Orb."

Kuroko was now on her left and unleashing a barrage of shadow orbs. Each hit didn't do much damage, but as each orb made contact it felt as if the energy itself was being sapped from her body. She noticed this right away and lashed out in anger emitting a pulse of phazon, knocking Kuroko back. He did a back summersault and was safely able to land on his feet only just in time to see Dark Samus in front of him about to cleave his head off with a phazon blade. He blocked it, but she moved away at nearly blinding speed and struck again from behind. This time he was unable to block, but his armor was able to absorb some of the damage. He rolled with the damage and regained his posture, but she was already behind yet again this time he took a more direct blow and was sent flying backwards. If not for his centuries of experience and battle hardened senses Dark Samus's next attack would have ended him, but on instinct he shadow-stepped away and avoided what could have been a lethal blow. Unlike before when he would simply shadow-step to reposition this time he was in a shady area using his shadowblend hide and assess the situation.

"*Pant* Not good her speed out matches my shadow senses. I can't follow her movements." he whispered to himself "At this rate I won't make it to Samus to collect my reward."

Speaking of Samus as Kuroko pondered to himself his wrist pad lit up to the built in communicator and he could hear Samus's voice on the end. Thankfully his shadowblend technique made the sound undetectable.

"Kur…ko… can…you… ear…me." the connection wasn't the best, but it fixed itself eventually

"Samus? How'd you get this line?"

"Not important. Are you okay? What's going on? What's the status on Dark Samus?" asked Samus obviously concerned as she rushed through her questions

"Miss me that much huh? Relax sweetie I got this under control. I'll see you in-"

A large beam of energy shot through a section of the trees leaving nothing but molten soil in its wake. More beams were fired, but in different directions; all of them random with no particular pattern. One eventually found its way near Kuroko's hiding spot. Usually this would be a good thing, but the beam cleared away much of the foliage that was providing shade causing his shadow blend technique to become innate. He turned his head to where Dark Samus was.

"Shit-"

"*static* Kuroko? Kuroko!?"

The transmission has been cut off and Kuroko's status was unknown. For all she knew he was dead, but Samus had her own problems to deal with. Anthony and his men did the best they could to fend off Ridley while Samus contacted Kuroko. Their efforts eventually were surpassed by Ridley's shear power and Samus was forced to resume aiding them.

"What'd your boyfriend say?" asked Anthony as they were standing behind the cover of some trees

"I don't know his line was cut off." responded Samus "And he's not my boyfriend I just agreed to be his if we make it through which right now doesn't look too likely."

Ridley let out a fearsome roar as flew low to the ground firing balls of phazon empowered plasma at Samus's group. They moved out of the way as getting hit by such an attack would prove to be devastating if not fatal. This however was part of Ridley's plan as he did not bode well in small constricted areas. Once the playing field was a little more open he charged at them. Samus and Anthony's men were ready and prepared to take evasive maneuvers. Only instead of a ride by attack with his claws he stopped short of them and swung his tail in a huge sweeping motion. Samus and Anthony managed to dodge, but his men were thrown back. If not for their power suits they would have experienced far worse punishment. Samus turned to Anthony with an idea in mind; a simple one, but it would have to do.

"We can't keep running we have to go on the offensive." stated Samus "Draw his attention and I'll hit 'em with the zero laser."

Anthony looked over to his men who were getting up from the attack. They were slightly injured, but more than able to do a little distraction routine.

"Got it." replied Anthony

He signaled his men with a few hand gestures. They acknowledged his orders and began to run away from Samus while firing there plasma guns at Ridley. Ridley became annoyed, how dare these pathetic creatures insult him with such pitiful attacks. He took flight a few meters above the ground. Thanks to Kuroko's earlier attack Ridley's wings were damaged and he could only flight so high. He chased the soldiers, but was put to a halt as a plasma shot hot his face. He turned to see Anthony standing there taunting him. Ridley became enraged and charged at him full force. Anthony was able to dodge the initial attack by moving to the left, but Ridley expected him to and stopped to deliver a spinning tail whip while he was still airborne. To Anthony it fell like getting his with a wrecking ball crushing his bones into tiny pieces; he hit the ground hard this time his armor didn't do much as it cracked open upon impact. He lay on the ground coughing up blood as Ridley slowly approached him. His men reluctantly tried to stop him, but Ridley ignored their feeble attempts; their weapons doing little to nothing. He looked down at Anthony who had a big grin on his face.

"Burn in hell Ridley."

He looked over to his right only to see Samus charging up a large mass of energy. His eyes were filled with fear. He almost froze in place, but tried to move out of the way. It was far too late. His crippled wings made him too heavy and slow. Samus fired her zero laser. The glorious ray of blue plasma collided with Ridley. He screamed in pain as the plasma burned away his armor. The molten metal seeping through his skin was unbearable. The bright blue light eventually faded and all's that was left was a crisp corpse of Ridley. Samus turned to Anthony as her power suit then dematerialized from the overwhelming force of the zero laser. She ran to him and knelt down to inspect his injuries.

"Anthony, are you okay?" asked Samus as she scanned his body for severe injuries

"Yeah…*Cough* that phazon's some dangerous stuff." he replied still coughing up blood "You gotta destroy the facility Samus. By the time the federation gets here it may be too late."

"But what about you and your team?" asked Samus

"Don't worry 'bout us we'll only slow you down. Just get a ship on your way out and pick us up. We won't be going anywhere." he said while trying to hide the pain

"Fine, I'll be back just hang tight."

With that she left and headed back to the base, leaving Anthony and his men behind. Before she left she gave him the electronic signature of the communicator so he could contact her if need be. She was off to annihilate the facility and save her companions. However how she was going to accomplish this remained to be disclosed. As she ran and thought at the same time she remembered Kuroko and tried to reestablish a connection.

"Kuroko can you hear me?"

The communication line was full of static, but slowly reestablished the connection. However all's that was heard on the other end was heavy breathing.

 **Exposition Overview: So far two shadow techniques have been used one being shadow shaping and the other being shadow control. Of the two shadow control is** **definitely** **the most peculiar and complex even to the point that Kagemaru is unable to preform the technique even while housing in Kuroko for over a** **millennium. It follows the principle of "A shadow does not mimic you, you mimic the shadow." Unlike shadow shaping shadow control requires much more concentration especially if the the technique requires extreme precision or force. Typically it's neigh impossible to perform shadow shaping ans shadow control simultaneously, but extremely skilled users such as Kuroko are able to.**

 **A/N: Hi all just wanted to check in on how everyone is enjoying the story. Leave a review so that I know if it sucks or not. Also as per say the next story there are to options: Kuroko can either unleash his 2nd seal or enter demonic overtake. leave a review to let me know. Keep reading FanFiction :)**


	6. The Beast and the Bounty Hunter

Chapter 6

The Beast and the Bounty Hunter

Previously: Kuroko and Samus were caught out by Ridley and Dark Samus as they were trying to escape the space pirate's base. Their ship was shot down and Kuroko was forced to forfeit all terms of his wager and release the first seal, saving all of them. In the mists of battle Dark Samus and Ridley were separated. His fighter instincts kicked in and he left Samus to deal with Ridley while he fought the stronger opponent. Samus and Anthony were able to successful subdue Ridley and decided to destroy the phazon mines as it was a threat that could not be ignored. Anthony and his men were too hurt to assist so he pleaded for Samus to carry out the plan without him. She was able to get in touch with Kuroko but unbeknownst to her, his fight didn't go as well as hers.

Samus kept running towards the base hoping to complete her mission and save everyone if possible. Her power suit was still deactivated due to the sheer power of the zero laser, but in this situation she would favor speed over strength. On her way she attempted to contact Kuroko who was in the general direction of where she was heading.

"*Heavy Breathing*"

"Kuroko are you okay?" asked Samus over the com-link "I'm heading you're way."

"Just peachy " replied Kuroko with a snarky attitude " and don't bother, Oh shit-"

"Kuroko? Argh dammit!"

The line went dead and nothing could be heard except static. She had no choice, but to disregard it and press on. She saw where the explosion had come from and started to run in that direction.

A man lay against a tree. His face ragged and ruffed up from fighting and his side bleeding from a recent injury. His hair was no better, messy and full of dirt. Kuroko no longer had his armor activated and was trying to regain some strength before his encounter again with Dark Samus. Unfortunately she had blown away most of the trees surrounding the area making a nice wide clearing leaving limited hiding places. He could hear an electronic, robotic sounding laughter from Dark Samus.

"Hahaha what's the matter lost your nerve." Is what it sounded like to Kuroko

Though there weren't that many hiding places Kuroko was a master at making the most out of what he had. Dark Samus grew impatient and began to channel a large amount of phazon energy. Crackling blue streams of energy surrounded her; then after a few seconds two blobs of phazon appeared beside her. This energy seemed different from her normal blasts almost as if they were alive. After this thought passed through Kuroko the blobs of phazon took shape of two more Dark Samuses. Kuroko face palmed himself in annoyance then let out a light chuckle.

"Aww now if only Samus could do that I'd get three bounty hunters for the price of one." he joked to himself

Dark Samus gave them a signal and they fanned out searching for the one man who has averted her for so long. Kuroko let out a long sigh and got up from his resting position. He sprung from his hiding spot; both shadow blades in hand, drawing the attention of the Dark Samus clones.

"Let's even the playing field a bit shall we?" he shouted "Shadow Shaping: Clone."

Two large shadowy silhouettes appeared beside him and instantly took on the exact appearance of Kuroko. They were identical in every way; the same hair build, and they were even wielding the two shadow blades he had. Again he let out a small chuckle to himself.

"Samus might not be able to do this, but it may be for the best. I like being in a dominating position." he said to himself while grinning

His lustful thoughts were interrupted when one of the Dark Samus clones began to fire at him. Kuroko's clones acted independently without any orders from him like they already knew to do. They quickly dispersed and began to run around in seemingly random patterns attempting to confuse the enemy. As good as Kuroko is with giving his opponents a false sense of confidence he is also good at just the opposite, bluffing. To him these clones weren't actually meant to fight Dark Samus and win they were meant as a distraction. He had used up most of his ki already and decided retreat and regroup with Samus. The clones jumped around firing orbs of shadow energy. Dark Samus's clones brushed the attack off with no effort. One of the clones closed the distance with blinding speed. Kuroko's clone was able to react fast enough to the one, but the other Dark Samus clone went unnoticed and sliced the clone in two. It disappeared in a wisp of shadowy smoke almost like cutting through an illusion. Kuroko scoffed and proceeded to slowly retreat while using his remaining clone to confuse Dark Samus. She however caught on to his plan and ordered her clones to attack full force. Kuroko had no choice to again hide. As soon as they attacked Kuroko and his clone shadow-stepped away to another hiding spot. He was about to make s break for it and send his clone in the other direction as a distraction, but before he could Samus showed up from beyond the trees.

"Samus?! What are you doing here?!" asked Kuroko who was slightly agitated, but at the same time grateful

"I said I was on my way." argued Samus "Change of plans we have to destroy the phazon mines AND get off this planet."

"Why can't the federation handle that." retorted Kuroko "we don't exactly have the luxury to do both."

"By the time they get here too much phazon will have already been shipped off and it will corrupt and spread like wildfire. We have to destroy it now." replied Samus

"Tsk fine but-" his shadow senses kicked in "Look out!"

Dark Samus and her clones had spotted them and fired at them. Kuroko was able to tackle Samus to the side avoiding the blast. However one of her clones came at them, wielding and phazon blade, while they were grounded. Kuroko's clone came out of hiding and blocked the attack, but was quickly disposed of. Another Dark Samus clone came at them as the other one disposed of Kuroko's clone, but Kuroko was already up and blocked the attack. He shoved Samus out of the way as at this point she would only be a hindrance without her power suit. He desperately tried defending against two attackers at once and was doing okay at first purely because of his combat prowess. The clones realized this was taking too long and decided to focus their attention on Samus. One kept Kuroko engaged while the other attacked Samus.

"Argh, run you idiot! shouted Kuroko

Samus back hand-sprung away from the attack. Without her suit she was much more flexible and maneuverable, but at the cost of be far more fragile. Unfortunately even with her increased speed she could not out match Dark Samus's clone. Kuroko overpowered his opponent in the blade lock and pushed her back. Just as the clone was about to strike Samus, Kuroko shadow-stepped in front to block the attack. He then deflected the blade of phazon and retaliated with his own blade slashing at her stomach and knocking her back. He turned to her.

"Dammit get the hell outta here now!" ordered Kuroko

"But-"

"No buts just-"

Kuroko's shadow senses went crazy, but he wasn't fast enough to react. Samus watched helplessly as a blade of phazon energy pierced through his chest. He coughed up blood as he felt the life slowly drain away from his body; his head went limp. What was strange was that though his life seemed to be fading, a veil of a shadowy aura began to surround him. With the last ounce of his sanity he whispered to Samus.

"Run."

"Huh?"

"I said RUUNNNN ARRRRGGGGHHHHH!"

A surge of ki overflowed though Kuroko's body, but unlike him releasing a seal this was different. The shadowy aura formed into a thick cloak around him. Around his feet and hands were now shadows in the shape of claws and his eyes were no longer the gentle warm brown color it was before; his pupils masked both eyes were glowing a bright yellow. Kuroko was no longer there. He turned his head at the person that stabbed him and with a single stroke he sliced off the arm wielding the blade. Without a moment's notice he unleashed a flurry of claws at the clone before him with the final slash cleaving it in two causing it to disappear in a small burst of energy. Kuroko let out a load roar a resumed to standing on all fours. He turned his head at Samus. As she gazed into the creature's eyes for the first time in a long time she felt something that she had not felt since she was a little girl, fear, true fear. She slowly backed away as Kuroko walked closer. She tripped and fell down cowering at the beast before her. The moment was cut short when one of the clones took a shot at Kuroko. He turned and easily deflected the shot with his claw. He started to run after the one that just shot him. Running on all fours as snarls and growls echoed from his mouth with each step. The clone desperately tried shooting at him attempting to finish him off before he got closer, but Kuroko was too fast and could not be hit. The clone drew it blade, but before it could use it Kuroko appeared in front a grabbed it by the head. It helplessly struggled as Kuroko lifted it up and crushed the head and took his other free claw and slammed the clone into the ground; ripping and tearing away at the already dead clone. It too dispersed in a small burst of energy. He let out a triumphed roar as he finished his opponent off and turned his attention to Dark Samus herself. Dark Samus was angered at how easily her plans fell apart. Ironically planning an attempt to kill Kuroko only made him stronger causing her plan to fall apart. She unleashed her rage by unloading blast after blast of phazon, missile after missile. Kuroko easily dodged every attack with his increased speed and closed the distance in an instant. He was nearly impossible to track, but Dar Samus was able to react fast enough and formed a phazon blade to block his claw. The two adversaries locked weapons, but only for a brief moment. Kuroko began to violently lash out strike with his claws one by one forcing her to keep a defensive position. His last attack once again locked their weapons in place, but this time he used his other claw to slice clean through the phazon blade. Without any hesitation he immediately stabbed his claw through her stomach. For a moment all was silent as the two stared into each other's eyes. Then not but a second later he tore his claw straight up through where her clavicle bone should have been and gave her one final blow with the back of his claw sending her flying back. He resumed his position on all fours and started to slowly crawl towards Samus, who had been watching speechless the whole time. He let out a small snarl as he approached her. She drew her paralyzer and spoke to him.

"Kuroko wait it's me Samus." pleaded Samus "Come on Kuroko Snap out of it."

Try as she may only more growling continued as her words seemed to have no effect. Just as he was about to pounce he stopped. The shadowy cloak surrounding him began to disappear along with the claws on his feet and hands. Slowly but surely his eyes reverted back to the gentle brown color they once were. The hole in his chest was no longer there, completely healed.

"Ugh I hate using the Demonic Overtake, I miss all the action." said Kuroko as grabbed his head like he had a massive headache

"Kuroko are you… back?" asked Samus still very cautious

"Yeah I'm back what happened?" replied Kuroko

"You mean you don't remember any of this?" said Samus surprised as she pointed to all around them

"Oh, well her fate was sealed the second she gave me that wound." stated Kuroko "Though I would prefer not settling things this way. Anyways shall move one?"

"What? Wait a minute what the hell just happened? What was that… thing?" rambled Samus unable to comprehend any of this

"Explanations later, right now don't we have a base to blow up?" retorted Kuroko

"Uh right." replied Samus

"Oh by the way you're lucky you weren't wearing your suit otherwise you may be dead now and I'd be out a reward." said Kuroko

"What?" asked Samus confused

"Never mind let's just go."

They both headed towards the base this time more ready and willing than ever. The path to the base was uneventful as most of the space pirates were combing the further reaches of the jungle thinking that their initial ship had landed further. They got to a different entrance that looked more or less like a loading bay meant to ship and receive materials. The space pirates left a decent amount of man power behind, but nothing the two of them couldn't handle especially since Ridley and Dark Samus were out of the equation.

"So Samus what exactly is the plan here?" asked Kuroko as they were preparing to enter the base

"It's simple this facility obviously requires a lot of power and probably uses an Afloratite to power it." explained Samus "We're gonna ignite it to cause a massive explosion wiping out everything within a thirty mile radius."

"Well you seem to be the expert on this matter. Lead the way, miss." said Kuroko as he gestured jokingly

 **Exposition Overview: After being sealed within Kuroko for so long Kagemaru and Kuroko have** **instinctively developed a fail safe system in case something were to happen to Kuroko. Normally the four seals prevent him from using any of his ki or any of Kagemaru's powers. However because the four seals were created using Kagemaru's powers they can't completely contain his power. Should Kuroko's life be in peril usually though a fatal injury the seals don't release, but more or less loosen letting out a strong surge of ki. When this happens his survival instincts take over and he becomes nothing more than a raging beast that will destroy any and all possible threats around him including allies; normally starting with the strongest threat first. While in this state his shadow senses become sharper than ever and he gains the Eyes of the Shadow Being, but we'll explain that another time. The state ends when whatever caused his fatal condition in the first place is gone (an injury perhaps)or ALL surrounding potential threats have been eliminated.**

 **A/N: I know this chapter came up quick. I just had a stroke of genius and the words just started to flow. Anyways I'm glad some replied at least it's better than no one, but I keep getting views so I'm just going to assume people like reading this. Though a nice comment every now and then would be a good morale boost for me. Sorry but no choices this time I choose what happens next. Anyways as always thanks for reading and keep reading FanFiction :)**


	7. Final Showdown

Chapter 7

Final Showdown

 **A/N: Thank you to all who have stuck with me to the very end. Unfortunately next chapter with probably be the last one. Anyways I hope you all enjoyed reading my story as much as I enjoyed writing it leave a review to let me know if there's anything that I can improve on to help improve your reading experience. Thanks again and as always keep reading FanFiction :)**

Previously: Kuroko was struggling to fight Dark Samus. Most of Kuroko's abilities lack raw destructive power and rely on finesse and tactical use. Anything he did to her she would simply regenerate and counter attack. To make matters worse she had created clones of herself to ensure her victory over him. While Kuroko was hiding Samus arrived at his location and told him her plan. Kuroko only listened for so long and told her to leave now before things got worse. However before any of them could make their next move Dark Samus's clones attacked and gave him a fatal wound to his chest. His life being in peril he entered his Demonic Overtake state turning into no more than a raging beast. In his rage he destroyed the clones and eliminated Dark Samus. Thankfully his wounds were finished healing and he reverted back to normal self before he got to Samus.

It wasn't too long since Kuroko defeated Dark Samus and he and our lovely heroine had once more entered the space pirates' base. This time however their mission was to destroy this entire facility. Samus explained to Kuroko along the way that there was an afloratite at the center of the mine that she could ignite to blow this place sky high. They entered in the rear side of the base proceeding swiftly, but carefully as this part of the base was new to them. It looked like the storage section of the place. Many crates were stacked up everywhere and there was the occasional guard roaming the area making sure everything was in order. To make matters worse on top of this area being one of he biggest in the facility the stacked crates formed a maze-like structure making it difficult for them to maneuver through. They eventually made it through, evading guards and watching each other's back. They came upon a door and opened it. According to the map if they took a few turns they would arrive at the entrance to the mine.

"Watch your step." warned Samus "We don't know this area as well."

"Did you forget who you're talking too?" bragged Kuroko as he started walking "I'll be fine."

Kuroko then paused and turned his head only to stare directly into a camera. He tilted his head and the video camera mimicked his movement. An imaginary sweatdrop appeared on the side of his head as he felt a slight feeling of panic. Within a few seconds an alarm sounded alerting the entire base of their presence. Samus could only facepalm as they took off and started running towards the mine entrance.

"Dammit Kuroko I said watch your step." shouted Samus as they continued running.

"Yeah yeah yeah whatever just keep running." yelled Kuroko

They ran as fast as they could as a group of space pirates where right behind them. Kuroko was still no shape to fight and Samus's suit was still recharging. Both warriors were well conditioned and could easily out run the space pirates, but as they were about to make it to the entrance a space pirate ambushed them from around a corner. It attacked Kuroko who was the closest to him slashing its sickle at him. Samus stopped to assist, but Kuroko waved her off signaling her to keep going. The space pirate aimlessly charged at Kuroko only to meet its fate of a dagger in its skull. He pulled his dagger from the now dead space pirate headed toward Samus. Samus was already on the other side of the doorway. A red light above the doorway started flashing as did another alarm.

"Hurry up Kuroko! Before it closes." yelled Samus

He ran full speed, but unfortunately it was not enough. Just as he was about to enter a barrier covered the doorway, preventing Kuroko from pressing on. Kuroko noticed the barrier had formed and while he still had momentum he jabbed his dagger at the barrier. A surge of electricity crackled as the weapon collided with the shield. He held on for as long as he could, but was soon forced backwards.

"Argh... I don't know why I thought that would work." he said rubbing his head as he stood up

"Cant't you teleport through or something?" asked Samus

"Unfortunately I'm still recovering from that little incident." explained Kuroko "Even using a single technique would immensely tire me out. Is there another way?"

"That venting shaft should lead to the observation deck right beside the mine." said Samus as she looked at her map and pointed to a shaft tot the side

"Gotcha see ya on the other side." replied Kuroko

He opened the cover and made his way through. Luckily the shaft was too small for the space pirates to use giving Kuroko a free pass to his destination. The base was on red alert meaning the barrier tot he phazon mines was locked tight and it would be awhile until the space pirates could bypass the protocol to get through. Kuroko arrived at his destination. It was a large wall that stretched along the side of the entire phazon mine with a tall tower at the entrance overlooking a large portion of the mine. He looked down; the mine was nothing like he had ever seen before. It had dark blue lines running across the floor and walls creating an intricate web-like design. It was like a field of dark blue webbing beautiful as much as it was devastating. As Kuroko was taking in the scenery he noticed Samus waving at him. He waved back, but as they exchanged their brief greetings a shot came from above and Samus jumped behind a rock for cover.

"Kuroko take care of that sniper!" ordered Samus over the comm link

"Ahem, what do you say?" pestered Kuroko

"We dont have time for-" she was cut off

"What do you say?" asked Kuroko with a more stern voice

"Please take care of that sniper Kuroko." asked Samus as her face began to tint with red

"Gladly."

He opened the door to the tower and climbed the stairs. The tower was about two stories high so it didn't take long for him the reach the vantage point. When he got there he saw a space pirate with a plasma rifle staring down the scope. As the space pirate was about to fire another shot he felt a tap on his right shoulder. He looked ever to see Kuroko's fist slam into his face knocking him out the window to his death.

"Okay you're clear Samus." reported Kuroko

She began to advance forward then quickly contacted Kuroko again. Kuroko was about to leave the tower before he got Samus's call.

"Um we have a problem here." said Samus

"What?" asked Kuroko as he looked out the window he saw a multitude of space pirates all converging on Samus's location and firing at her. She tried to fight back, but there was little she could do

"With only my paralyzer there's not much I can do." informed Samus

"Hang on Samus I got your back."

He went over to the sniper rifle and examined it. It looked similar to a barrett sniper rifle with a few minor differences. Though the importance details were there, a bolt, a trigger, and a barrel. He took hold of it and took a deep breathe.

"Well here goes nothing." he said

He took aim and fired at the space pirate closest to Samus. He scored a direct hit as the bolt of plasma tore through the creatures skin as if it were made of paper. It let out a cry of pain as it hit the floor dead. Kuroko pulled back on the bolt and a hiss of steam came out from sides of the gun. Samus instantly recognized the the gun and contacted Kuroko.

"Careful Kuroko that's a military grade plasma rifle." explained Samus "You can shoot multiple time without pulling the bolt back, but make sure you do it every few shots to prevent overheating."

"Got it. Behind you." warned Kuroko

Samus turned and shot a space pirates who was about to slash at her. It became paralyzed from the shot and Kuroko finished him off with the plasma rifle. Kuroko gave her the okay signal to move up. They continued the strategy, Samus disabled them and Kuroko took them out. After Samus was about halfway down the mine Kuroko signaled her to wait while he moved up along with her. He decended from the watch tower and made his way down the wall along side the mine. Once he was close enough he signaled her to once again resume moving forward. The process repeated with little to no issues. Samus and Kiroko were in perfect sync; Samus making sure to paralyze the space pirates she could and keep out of line of attack from the ones she could not while Kuroko took out the ones that were shooting at her first and killing the paralyzed ones last. They were near the end of the mine were the afloratite was located. Samus looked and the coast was clear so she headed towards the afloratite chamber. Kuroko was about to clean up and ditch the gun, but then out of the corner of his eye he saw another space pirate.

"Samus, watch out!" warned Kuroko

A space pirate armed with nothing but a sickle attacked Samus at her blind spot. She was about to side step and avoid him, but he kept relentlessly attacking. This space pirate was different from the rest. He had no phazon gun, but he was heavily armored in a grayish metallic suit, covering all, but his hands and feet. Samus tried to shoot it with her paralyze, but it bounced off his armor; only phasing him for a second.

"Kuroko help me out here his armor's too thick." relayed Samus

Kuroko quickly took aim and pulled the trigger only nothing came out of the barrel. He tried pulling the trigger multiple times making sure the rifle wasn't just broken. He even tried pulling the bolt back and then pulling the trigger, but still nothing. He then looked at a flashing light on the side of the gun that showed a tiny gauge with the flashing light fully at the bottom.

"Dammit I'm out of ammo." informed Kuroko

Samus let out an annoyed groan and continued to evade the space pirate's attacks. She was farm more agile without her suit, but with nothing protecting her soft delicate skin she wouldn't last too long. Eventually the space pirate was able to get the upper hand and got off a nice clean cut against Samus's stomach. She screamed in pain as the sharp blade cleaved through her suit and cut through her skin. Blood dripped from the open wound and she put her hand over it to prevent further bleeding. She looked up at the space pirate who at his hand raised ready to finish her off.

"Kuroko!"

"Argh! Dammit! Shadow Control: Crush!"

He focused the remainder of his ki into this one technique. Just as the space pirate was about to strike a feint veil of a shadowy aura surrounded the space pirate's neck. the veil was barely noticeable, but as soon as it appeared the space pirate felt a crushing force encloshe on its neck. It choked and gasped for air, flailing its arms around in a futile attempt to free itself from the invisible grasp. With a single motion Kuroko squeezed his hands as if crushing a bug in his hand. The space pirate's neck followed as his neck snapped; a sickening cracking sound echoed through Samus's ears as the space pirate fell lifeless to the floor. Kuroko released his hold on the space pirate and collapsed to one knee; gasping for air and breathing heavily from exhaustion.

"Kuroko, are you okay?" asked Samus with genuine concern in her voice

"Yeah... I'll manage." replied Kuroko between breathes "I'll meet you down there just hurry up and go."

Samus agreed and went into the chamber entrance. Kuroko managed to stand up and spotted a door that lead to the lower levels. When he got to the chamber it was not what he expected in that is was rather small and lackluster for something that was powering the who facility. The afloratite itself was a large crystal with blue veins of phazon running through and around it. What was supposed to be a beautiful crystal was now sickening concoction, corrupted with phazon. Samus was at the base of the crystal preparing what looked like a bomb.

"Okay that should do it." she said holding up a detonator

"Good then lets get outta here and blow this place sky high." suggested Kuroko

"Right." replied Samus

They exited the chamber and got to the exit of the mine, but were stopped in their tracks when they saw a familiar figure approach them. The two gasped in shock as the figure that stood before them was none other than Dark Samus.

"But how-"

Before Samus could finish her sentence Dark Samus shot at her. Kuroko was able to push her to safety and used one of the space pirates phazon guns to momentarily stun her. However in the mist of the chaos and confusion Samus was unable to hold on to the detonator. Dark Samus had shot with such force that the mine shook and started to crumble as rocks fell from the sides and ceiling. Samus looked for the detonator and saw it lying not too far from them. Unfortunately before she could reach it a large rock landed on top of it crushing their last hope of completing this mission. She knew there was now only one way to detonate the bomb. Someone had to do it manually. She turned to Kuroko, but he already knew what she was going to say.

"Go Samus." ordered Kuroko

"No this is my mission and I'm gonna see it through!" replied a stubborn Samus

"Listen Samus you can't-"

"No you listen I have to do this for the galaxy, for my father." cried Samus tears forming in her eyes

Kuroko realized the emotional stress that this situation must be be causing Samus and simply took her and held her in his arms. A warm feeling touched Samus to her very core as time seemed to slow down for the two. They stood there embracing each other; Samus wishing that this moment would never end. Kuroko only gave out a tiresome sigh.

"I'm sorry Samus." said Kuroko

He pushed Samus through the exit. Samus hot the ground and could only watch as rocks came pouring down blocking the exit. Before the exit was completely covered she saw Kuroko looking back at her. She couldn't see his face because of the mask, but she knew exactly what he as doing.

"Dammit!"

Samus saw that Kuroko had also gave her his dagger. She picked it up and started running towards the loading bay to find a ship as tears streamed from her eyes. Kuroko was left to face Dark Samus. Her aura of phazon was clearly visible as as she walked towards him saying something in a distorted sounding voice. Kuroko feigned interest and simply cracked his knuckles.

"Yeah yeah yeah shut up." said Kuroko "You made me do something that made a woman cry. I don't like seeing women cry."

Dark Samus could only laugh at him as she charged up another powerful shot. Kuroko took a deep breath as he prepared to finish this once and for all.

"Second Seal: Forced Release!"

 **Exposition Overview: Kuroko's four seals are what regulate how much ki he has access to and how much of Kagemaru's ki he is allowed to use. The first two restrict access to his own and Kagemaru's ki while the last two only restrict Kagemaru's ki. Normally Kuroko has to concentrate and allow the seals to open willingly one by one. However desperate times call for desperate measures. If the situation should ever call for it Kuroko can forcefully break through prior seals past the first to release another which in turn can have devastating side effects after the seals revert back to normal.**


	8. Until Next Time

Chapter 8

Until Next Time

 **A/N: Yup this is the final chapter of the bounty hunter and the shadow merc. It's been fun guys enjoy. :)**

Previously: Kuroko and Samus have reentered the space pirates' base and made it to the phazon mine. Things got a little complicated along the way when they got separated, but nothing they couldn't handle. They fought their way through the mines and were able to plant the bomb to ignite the afloratite, but Dark Samus had come back to thwart their plans yet again. After causing so much damage the mine began to collapse as they ran for the exit. The detonator broke and Samus saw that the only option was for her to remain here and manually trigger the bomb. However Kuroko disagreed and shoved Samus out of the mine as rocks came down to block the entrance. Kuroko turned his head to face the one that got away or in this case the one that survived.

The phazon mine still began to collapse; bits and chunks fell from the ceiling as the two stood across from each other. The tension in the air was thick; Kuroko prepared for what he hoped was to be his final battle with this strange being. The blue webbing-like pattern on the rocks began to glow as Dark Samus siphoned a large amount of energy from them. Kuroko knew he didn't have enough time to prepare for the second seal so he did what he had to do.

"Second Seal: Forced Release!"

Inside the spiritual side of Kuroko a symbol of the japanese kanji for "seal" appeared. Instead of opening it shattered and a large amount of ki poured through. The ki came upon another seal and also shattered this seal. Back in reality Kuroko could feel a strong surge of ki coursing through his body far more than what he had felt when he fought Dark Samus before he went beserk. He extended his right arm and a black katana appeared in his hand. The blade was as beautiful as it was deadly; it's shimmering edge shined with the blue light emanating from the mine. Just looking at the blade made it feel like it could through your very soul. Kuroko looked at his opponent who was done feeding.

"It's been awhile since I could wield the Shadow Fang." said Kuroko as he pointed his sword at her "Please don't disappoint."

She let out a gargled electronic sounding sentence then proceeded to attack. With her incredible speed she was able to encircle Kuroko while firing off a barrage of shots and missiles. They each collided causing an explosion and smoke to appear. The the smoke settled only to reveal a shield surrounding him and not a scratch on his body. He dispersed his shield and blew away the smoke and smiled.

"My turn."

Meanwhile Samus rushing to the hanger to find a ship to get her and Anthony's team off the planet and out of the dead zone. Luckily her suit was done recharging and was now equipped as the alarm was still in order and may space pirates were attempting to kill her. She made it past them with ease and found a ship. With her experience with fly she was easily able to get the ship up and running and flew towards Anthony's location.

"Kuroko you better not break your promise."

Kuroko shadow-stepped in front of her and took a mighty swing with the Shadow Fang. Dark Samus drew a phazon blade from her arm cannon and blocked the attack. Dark Samus was by far the strongest of the two combatants, but Kuroko was without a doubt the fastest and most skilled. She relied on her vast amount of weaponry to out gun her opponents while tanking anything they threw at her and only fought in melee when necessary. Kuroko was the opposite and relied on his speed and agility to dodge incoming attacks and overwhelm his opponents in close quarters combat only using some of his other abilities if necessary. The battle dragged on and was not boasting well for Dark Samus. She had to gain some distance, but everytime she tried Kuroko would shadow-step to her and force her into melee. They clashed blades once again and locked them into place. Kuroko felt like he could easily win this and be back in no time, but during the clash he felt a sharp pain in his chest. It felt like his chest was about to burst; the pain spread to the limbs in his body making it almost unbearable. Dark Samus took notice to this and countered by forcing him back to gain some distance.

"Dammit the seals are already repairing themselves huh?" he mumbled to himself

He glanced over where Samus had placed the bomb. Dark Samus saw him and also looked at where he was looking. She let out a surprised sounding screech in realization to where their plan was and rushed over to disable it. Kuroko shrugged off the pain and shadow-stepped to her again.

"Going somewhere?" he joked

She tried to block his attack, but this time his blade cut clean through hers. He took advantage of the opening he created and sliced her left arm off. He knew he had to go activate the bomb so afterwards he kicked her back and unleashed another technique.

"Shadow Scythe!"

With a wide vertical swing he let out a large blade of shadowy ki. It flew forward attempting to split her in two, but she jumped to the side causing only the bottom half of her leg to get chopped off. As she avoided the attack she also was charging up the charge beam. Kuroko's eyes widened as she fired the massive beam of phazon at him. He held up his sword to block the attack, but still sustained some damage as the attack forced him backward. He landed next to the bomb and tried to get back up using the sword to assist him, but it was too late. The seals had already finished repairing themselves. The shadow aura that surrounded him was now gone and the Shadow Fang was no longer within his grasp. He coughed up blood from the repercussion of him forcing the seals open. He was covered in cuts and bruises and definitely had at least one cracked rib. As he lay next to the bomb he noticed the activation button. Dark Samus appeared in the alforatite chambers; her leg and arm already healed and prepared to end him. He only smiled.

"Dodge this."

He slammed his fist on the activation button. The bomb lit up and a short countdown appeared in green numbers. It started at ten. Dark Samus saw this and began to run the the other direction in a desperate attempt to escape the explosion. The bomb now read six, five, four, three, two, one. A small explosion took place near the afloratite; then it began to glow brightly until finally it let out a huge explosion. It spread quickly engulfing everything it passed in its path of destruction. Samus had just finished helping i the last of Anthony's team when they saw th explosion heading their way.

"Shit! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!" shouted Anthony

Samus got to the controls and floored it. The spaceship took off at impressive speed, but not as fast as an explosion. It was gaining on them; Samus did all she could, but he ship would not go any faster. Sweat dripped down her forehead as she kept steering the ship in hope that they would make it out of this alive. It looked like Kuroko's sacrifice was all for naught as the explosion drew closer to the ship. They closed their eyes and braced for impact, but then opened them to see that the ship was being propelled forward. Everyone looked back and saw that the explosion had reached the end of its path and the shockwave was pushing them. They all let out a breathe of relief as the ship enter space. They were all happy and cheered with joy all except Samus. She deactivated her suit and only stood their in sorrow looking at the dagger he dropped.

"You idiot you were supposed to make back alive." said Samus as tears slowly formed in her eyes

"His sacrifice didn't go in vain." said Anthony as he put his hand on her shoulder trying to comfort her "He destroyed the phazon mine and may have just saved the whole galaxy from its corruption."

"Yeah you're right." replied Samus

"He may not have been a soldier like me." said Anthony "But he woulda made a damn fine one and for that I salute him."

"*Cough* Argh… well that's very nice of you to say Anthony wouldn't have expected that from you."

Every turned their heads to see Kuroko. He was tattered beyond belief and stood there hunched over grabbing one arm. Blood dripped down from his left eyebrow as he breathed heavily from the battle he just went through. Samus couldn't believe her eyes and leapt up to embrace injured ninja.

"Kuroko!"

"Arghhhh...injured... still human… pain." screamed Kuroko as Samus's arms embraced him

"Oh sorry." said Samus as she let go "But how?"

"You don't think I dropped this on purpose did you?" replied Kuroko as he balanced his dagger on his finger then sheathed it

"Heh you're one tenacious son of a bitch aren't you" complimented Anthony

"You don't know the half of it." replied Kuroko

"Set a course private, we're goin' home." ordered Anthony

It took a few hours to reach earth. The ship landed near the building that Kuroko had entered where this all started. When they got there they were congratulated by the staff in charge of overseeing the mission. Applause was heard throughout the room and Dr. Johnson came forth to shake Kuroko's hand.

"I expected nothing less." said Dr Johnson as he handed Kuroko a receipt "Here's the transfer documents to your account."

"Ah much appreciated." replied Kuroko

"As for you Samus we have also transferred your payment." informed Johnson

"Oh uh thank you." replied Samus

As everyone settled down and enjoyed a job well done Anthony received a call from from HQ. He acknowledged it and went to say goodbye.

"I just got some new orders from HQ so I'm heading back." said Anthony "Nice seeing you again Samus."

Samus waved goodbye and so did Kuroko though his goodbye lacked that feeling of sincerity. As she waved goodbye to Anthony a fleeting thought popped into her head and she was reminded of a certain arrangement. She nervously looked a Kuroko then back then back at Kuroko.

"*Yawn* I'm feeling kinda tired I think I'll go take a shower then hit the hay." said Samus trying to leave

"Woah where do you think you're going." said Kuroko as he grabbed Samus's arm "Remember our little deal?"

"Uh um well... fine just give me some time to freshen up." said Samus in a timid voice

"Okay see ya in an hour." replied Kuroko

Samus handed Kuroko an address disappeared out of the building and went to the temporary room she was staying at a hotel in Tokyo. He took the piece of paper and read the address. He recognized the building and and a copy of his dagger. Afterwards he went to talk to Johnson to ask him a favor. He wanted him to deliver the copy to a specific location within the hour. Johnson didn't ask why and simply agreed. Almost an hour passed by uneventfully and Kuroko headed towards hotel. Tokyo was as busy as ever. The lights filled the sky taking the place of the stars. People walked back and forth tending to their own agenda. It was only ten o'clock so the night was still young. He arrived at the hotel. It was the Ritz-Carlton hotel, a beautiful five star hotel rated one of the best in Tokyo. The lobby was exquisite decorated with fancy paintings, only the finest furniture, and luxurious flowers. To tie everything together a large chandelier hung from the center. As he walked to the front desk people stopped and stared. It was not surprising as Kuroko although was wearing a suitable outfit he was still wearing his scarf and mask.

"May I help you sir?" asked the front desk man

"Room 921." said Kuroko

"Your name?" asked the front desk man, Kuroko double checked the piece of paper Samus had given him

"Kuroko."

"Ah yes here you are enjoy your stay." he said as he handed him a cardkey and bowed

Kuroko headed to the elevator and pressed the button to the ninth floor. He watched the light as it went from "G" to "9". He approached the room and used the key. It opened to reveal Samus lying on the bed dressed in a provocative nightgown. It was a translucent white color that stopped right below her upper thighs. Everything the gown covered was practically see through except for the parts covering her breasts and crotch; that was left to the imagination. Kuroko was breathless, but was not expecting this.

"Um Samus-" but Kuroko was cut off

"Okay I'm ready let's get this over with." her face was red with embarrassment

"Uh Samus-" again he was cut off

"Hurry up this is what you wanted right?" her face still flushed a bright red

She then looked at him and saw the strange attire he was dressed in. Well all was normal save the scarf and mask, but a a plain black collar neck and casual blue pants was not something one wore before you slept with someone.

"Uh Samus, exactly what kind of man do you take me for?" asked Kuroko feeling slightly insulted

"Huh?"

"I'm here to pick you up for dinner." informed Kuroko "Didn't I mention that?"

Samus lay there dumbfounded; her face becoming even more red if that was even possible. Soon however that embarrassment turned into rage and the redness of her face was of a different kind.

"No you didn't!" Samus kicked Kuroko out of her room in a fit of rage mixed with embarrassment

A few minutes passed and the door opened. This time Samus was dressed in a sleeveless blue dress. It was simple in design and stopped just above her knees, but showed off all her assets with its tight form. She had on matching high heels and had a coat simple black coat over her as it was mid fall out.

"Alright I'm ready where're we going?" asked Samus who has now calmed down

"That's a surprise." answered Kuroko "Close your eyes and hold out your hand."

Samus nodded and held out her. Kuroko took hold over hand careful not to be too rough and gently caressed it. In an instant they teleported to another location. Not too far away from them was a couple watching in shock as the couple before them disappeared.

"Okay you can open your eyes now." instructed Kuroko

Samus opened her eyes and saw that she was atop a tall building. There was a table set for two complete with two wine glasses, a bottle of wine, and two dinner plates still covered. What really caught her attention was the view. They were right in front of the Eiffel tower. The lights from the massive building shone brilliantly over them creating the perfect scenery. Kuroko went up and extended his arm.

"Well then take a seat." he said gesturing to the table

"How did we-" she stopped as soon as she saw Kuroko tossing his dagger up and down "Nevermind."

She took a seat and unveiled the dish in front of her. It was a piece of delicious looking cut of roast duck with a piece of bread on the side along with a soup with an assortment of vegetables. For dessert was a small fruit tart. Samus's eyes widened in amazement of how delectable the food looked then looked back at Kuroko.

"Did you make this?" asked Samus surprised

"When you have the time I do you pick up a few things." bragged Kuroko as he removed his mask"Go on dig in."

Samus did just that except in a more lady-like fashion. She tried the duck and couldn't believe her taste buds. It was delicious possibly rivaling that of a master chef. The same went for the soup. When they finally finished the main course they started to eat the fruit tart. Unbeknownst to well pretty much everyone Samus had a bit of a sweet tooth. When she the fruit tart entered her mouth an explosion of sweet and tart flavors burst through her mouth. She could barely contain her excitement, but retained her composure.

"So how's my cooking?" asked Kuroko, noticing the slight changes in her complexion "Sorry if I'm a bit rusty it's been a while."

"*Ahem*not bad." complimented Samus as she cleared her throat "It's definitely not the worst I've had."

"Really is that why you finished much before me?" teased Kuroko

Samus looked down at her plate then back at Kuroko's plate. Kuroko had only just finished his main course. She blushed and turned her head to the side to avoid eye contact.

"Hmp I was just hungry okay?" argued Samus

"Here have some wine to wash that down." offered Kuroko

He poured two glasses of wine. It was an expensive bottle of ice brandy and definitely hit the spot after that amazing meal. Kuroko eventually finished his meal. He sat there staring deeply into Samus's eyes as if he was trying to gaze into her soul. Samus wasn't paying attention as she was too busy enjoying the scenery. When she finally did take notice she quickly looked away too embarrassed to keep eye contact. The food was delicious, but Samus felt like she wanted more.

"Aren't gonna explore the city?" pestered Samus

"I'm not one for showing my face in public if I can avoid it." said Kuroko "Why do you think I chose this spot."

"Oh okay well thank you for this wonderful night." said Samus in a sad tone "You can take me home now."

Kuroko felt bad that they traveled all the way to Paris and couldn't even show Samus around. He looked at her beautiful face once more and realized that she looked more beautiful when happy. He sighed and finally gave in.

"Alright we can walk around the city." announced Kuroko rubbing his hand on the back of his head "But only for a little while."

"Really? Thanks Kuroko." she said with a smile on her face

Kuroko took his dagger and threw it down into the streets. He then picked her up princess style causing her have a bit of mixed feelings. Once the dagger was near the ground he teleported to it. He appeared and caught the dagger in one hand while setting down Samus at the same time. The two began their journey through Paris taking in the sights of the vast city. Nothing was new to Kuroko, but Samus was enchanted by the beauty the city had to offer. As the couple pranced through the city of love, they couldn't help but notice all the stares and comments they got. Perhaps it was the fact that Kuroko decided to put his mask back on or perhaps it was how odd they looked together. Samus was a tall attractive woman with the body and figure of a model. Kuroko was quite attractive himself, but while they walked Samus towered over Kuroko especially with the heals she was wearing. They ignored it until they came across a rather obnoxious bunch.

"Hey honey." said a man with long blonde hair pulled back "Wanna have fun with some real men?"

That man seemed to be the leader of the trio that oh so rudely interrupted their date. Samus was furious and was trying to control her temper. She clenched her fist angrily, but Kuroko put his hand on her shoulder to calm her down. He gave the man in front of her threatening look.

"Leave, now." he said in a commanding voice

The man peaked his head to the side as he was about Samus's height then looked down. He saw Kuroko staring at him and immediately felt a chill run down his spine. He could feel the piercing gaze his eyes made and every bone in his body told not to do it, but his pride got the better of him.

"Huh?! We're just gonna take out n' show her a good time shouted the man "Got a problem? with that?!"

He foolishly tried to shove Kuroko as an intimidation tactic, but Kuroko took it one step further. The second his hand made contact he grabbed it with one hand and punched his face with the other while still maintaining his grip on wrist. He then used his leg to trip the man from behind, brought his leg up and delivered a massive heel drop to the man's stomach. The others took notice and tried to help, but they were no match. The first one took a kick to his face and got sent flying back. The other one was too scared to do anything and stood there with a pathetic fighting stance.

"Baaaa!" yelled Kuroko while flailing his hands around

This startled the other man causing him to panic and run in the other direction; only in the direction he ran was a telephone pole. He crashed right into it and fell unconscious. Samus and Kuroko enjoyed the rest of the night and ended their date in front of the Eiffel tower.

"Thank you Kuroko." she whispered "I had a great time."

"Me too." replied Kuroko

They shared an embrace. As they stood their in each other's arms Samus felt a warm feeling she had not felt before. It couldn't be, but what else could it be. Was she falling in love? No, not with someone like him she couldn't be, but the more she denied it the more she craved it. At last her feeling overwhelmed her body. She looked into Kuroko's eyes, took of his mask, and kissed him. Sparks flew as the two passionately shared this feeling. In the background the fountain erupted enhancing this magical moment. Samus wished that this moment in time would never end, Kuroko knew it had to. He teleported them back to Samus's hotel room where he left the dagger. After tasting the sweet fruit of passion Samus finally broke free from his lips.

"Kuroko I'm ready, take me." she whispered as she got down on the bed

Kuroko let out a sigh of sorrow then he turned to Samus who was now contempt with being his and lay on the bed waiting for him to make love with her. He knew that they could not be as time passes he does not. Samus will grow old, but he will not; he was destined to be alone wandering through space and time always searching for his next thrill. With another moment's notice he crawled atop Samus and began to violently caress her breasts with one hand. With the other he gently stroked her legs all the way up to her crotch then back down. As ecstasy overflowed his mind he began to kiss her neck, then her lips. Samus was enjoying every bit of it and slowly her lust grew out of control. Her womanhood began to lubricate and she was ready to give him her everything, but Kuroko stopped her short and whispered in her ear.

"I'm sorry Samus."

Without another word he disappeared leaving not but a trace behind him. Samus opened her eyes and saw nothing. Kuroko was gone, but a piece of paper slowly drifted down and she caught it. It read "You know the old saying Samus, if you love something set it free if it comes back it is yours if it doesn't it never was." She crumbled the paper in her hands as tears began to fall from her eyes.

"You idiot how could you break your own contract."

Kuroko appeared back at his home where he had left his actual dagger. It was dark and lonely just like it's always been for quite some time. That second part however turned out to be false as he felt an unknown presence in his home. It was coming from his room. He stealthily approached and entered the room. The moonlight shone through the window revealed a woman with blonde hair tied in a neat braid around her left shoulder. She was rummaging through his stuff.

"Ya know if your gonna break into someone's house you should be more aware of your surroundings." announced Kuroko

"Eep!"

She was startled and jumped up in surprise holding up her hands to show that she was unarmed. She was obviously scared, but she had a certain look in her eye; a look of determination.

"And you are?"

"Ch-Chloe, Chloe Renfield." she said in an American accent though her japanese was flawless "I'd wish to work for you!"

She bowed her head hoping and praying to God that he wouldn't just kill her let alone accept this crazy situation. Kuroko shook his head and let out another heavy sigh.

"Never a dull moment huh?" he whispered to himself

 **A/N: Thank you all who have taken the time to read my story. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. It's been a fun ride and...It's still gonna continue! Give me a shout out to what series you'd like to see Kuroko crossover into next. Manga, Anime, DC, Marvel pick something and I'll pick one and make it happen. Just give me the name of the character/series and I'll make my decision. And as always keep reading FanFiction :)**

 **Exposition Overview: Kuroko is the last of the Kage clan, an ancient ninja clan that existed over 1000 years ago. Now as the sole survivor he houses in him a being named Kagemaru. This being housing in him is proof of him being the head of the clan. Tradition states that when someone worthy of becoming the next head is born that the being be transferred which could possibly take hundreds of years. Kuroko now endlessly wanders through time and space looking for ways to ease this boredom he calls life.**


	9. Special Note Please Read

**IMPORTANT NOTE: IF ANYONE WISHED TO READ THE SEQUEL TO THIS STORY SIMPLY TYPE IN "THE LIGHT MEETS THE SHADOWS", HAPPY READING :)**


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